For working mothers at FSU, work/life balance just got harder

The university, says one employee, is “acting like they gave us this privilege to watch our children while we worked — when that’s literally what I had to do.” (Photo: Shutterstock)

The COVID-19 pandemic has focused a great deal of attention on the plight of working mothers, and the ever more precarious balance they have to strike between work and child care. With economies taking steps toward reopening and then having to retreat, keeping that balance is still important for many American mothers. Although several companies have adjusted policies so mothers could be flexible during the pandemic, there are signs that flexibility may be disappearing.

According to The Lily, an email was sent at the end of June to employees of Florida State University. “In March 2020, the University communicated a temporary exception to policy which allowed employees to care for children at home while on the Temporary Remote Work agreement,” it read. “Effective, August 7, 2020, the University will return to normal policy and will no longer allow employees to care for children while working remotely.”