The Big Read in short: The perks and peeves of staying at home

Singapore — No more fumbling with the crowds of rush hour, taking time to do laundry and cook in the kitchen amid conference calls. One can even go to online meetings while wearing pajamas.

As a result of the outbreak of COVID-19, the majority of employees in Singapore are reportedly freed from traditional office spaces, in particular since the Government’s “circuit breaker” measures -which entails the shut-down of non-essential schools and workplaces that were put into effect last week to stop a rising number of infection.

However, they’ve realized that being a home worker comes with issues, including technical topics on the internet, non-reliable connections to the internet, or inconducive environments.

For many, their most significant difficulty comes from a screaming child or an elderly parent who needs help.

It could make Ms. Josephine Tan, a 53-year-old public servant, insane.

The mother of three kids aged between 27 and 16 revealed to TODAY that in addition to having two children who work at home and another on at-home learning, she must be vigilant about her 87-year-old mother, who has dementia.

“Everyone is seated around the table, and it could get chaotic. My oldest daughter sometimes has to call her boss while my mom screams for me to help her.

“At the same time, my son is trying to finish his homework, and I’m trying to clear my pending tasks,” she added.

For the mother of two, Chris Tan, a writer and editor at an engineering firm at home, working from home means she must attend calls on conferences with a baby who is strapped onto her in a baby’s carrier and a screaming toddler as background.

“Sometimes during the call, everyone could hear my four-year-old screaming for me in the background…so I forgo the conference calls and just tell (my co-workers) to update me afterward,” said Ms. Tan, her husband is employed in the essential services.

JUGGLING CHILDCARE AND WORK

Home-based parents have been told today that they split their time between work and caring for their children from home. They are always trying to find ways to keep their children engaged. If they have children younger than them

Mrs. Noretta Jacob, who runs an early literacy program for children between five and seven, has planned stories and musical performances with her two daughters.

Since the circuit breaker was activated, her husband,  a vital services driver for private hire, must work daily, allowing her to work with her three children, aged between three and seven w, who attend home-based school.

“I see the beauty of sitting at home with my kids, but kids are kids, their attention spans are so limited… they have been pushing me out of my comfort zone as an educator to come up with more creative activities,” she explained.

To keep her four-year-old daughter entertained, Mrs. Chris Tan bought her a gardening kit to keep her four-year-old daughter entertained.

“She tends to it everyday so that frees up some of my time to actually work… because seriously working from home isn’t easy, especially with kids,” she added.

Confident parents, like Ms. Bianca Loo, say that the bright side of the woodwork-from-home lifestyle is that they will be able to observe the development of their children’s children.

MMs.Loo manages the technology company Criteo’s sales department for customers with large numbers throughout Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

“If it were a day when we were not working from home, I’d be traveling once a month to Southeast Asian countries and omitting certain important milestones (of her child’s growth). If I were working at the office, I’d be feeling that fomo (fear of not being able to participate),” said Ms. Loo, who was recently able to see her nine-month-old son grab sippy cups, shake his hands, or dance to a tune at first.

TENDING TO THE ELDERLY AT HOME

While children already pose a problem for parents who work at home, a similar, if not tricky, task will be faced by those who discover they have to double as caregivers to older parents.

A 27-year-old public employee who prefers to remain anonymously named Ms. Hanis, says she is now the caretaker for her 8383-year-old grandmother.

The helper of her grandmother was back in Indonesia in the last few days of November.

In the absence of alternative assistance, MMs.Hanis, her aunt who lives nearby, was known to take her grandmother to rehab sessions. At the same time, she and her parents — who provide critical services w– worked with the cessation of all non-essential activities and interaction with other households restricted to her mother.; Anis has assumed the caregiving role as her aunt must stay home.

“Managing the plethora of work I’m doing and caring for elderly parents is undoubtedly more challenging than I imagined.

“There was a time when I had to get a appointment from a boss. my grandmother was arguing about her meal. After a few minutes she would keep poking at me as she was begging to use the bathroom… Then I found myself speaking to my boss, while propping her up on the toilet,” Ms Hanis said with a smile.

The past week also allowed Ms. Hanis to get to know her grandmother better. They’ve been walking along the hallway of her home, making flower arrangements, and watching new Bollywood movies on Netflix.

“I never knew my grandma’s favourite actor is Shah Rukh Khan!” she declared about the famous Bollywood actor.

For Ms. Josephine Tan, the public worker whose mother has dementia, the last week was also bittersweet.

The helper she has hired is given more time to rest, as relatives are at home, and they can be in charge of looking after her mother, who she said was “very energetic.”

An older woman has been walking more often, looking at their children’s shoulders to see what they’re working on using their computers.

“My youngest son has been teaching his grandma how to watch Netflix on his tablet,” Ms. Tan said with a smile.

But, she also added she works from her home and may occasionally “drive her crazy.”..”Everyone will be seated at the table, which could get chaotic. My oldest daughter calls her boss, and my mom will shout for help.

“At the same time, my son is trying to finish his homework and I’m trying to clear my pending tasks,” she explained.

The madness aside,  Ms. Morgan is pleased that her “circuit-breaker” has brought the family together, as they can cook and have dinner together, organize board games, and film nights after everyone has left.

“Since all of us are staying at home all week… I think my mum is enjoying the circuit-breaker period the most,” added Ms. Tan.

KEEPING ACTIVE, HAVING FUN, GOING GLOBAL — ALL FROM HOME

The Government has repeatedly stated that the sole way to decrease the amount of COVID-19-related illnesses will be to encourage Singaporeans to remain at home.

With more people staying in their homes today, the Government has announced that it will increase entertainment and fitness through digital media.

According to the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) announced earlier in the week., more streaming and television programming will be available on this site.

The IMDA initiatives can benefit Singaporeans like Derrick Yeo, 35, who is trying to develop new and exciting activities to make the most of their free time.

Mr. Yeo is replacing his daily evening visits to Tuk Singapore’s nightclub Zouk Singapore with its free live streaming service called “Cloud Clubbing”..” During live streams, viewers can watch dancers show off tracks performed by a disc jockey.

When asked which one he prefers more or more -or clubbing in the natural virtual World — Mr. Yeo stated that he does not have an opinion.

“I like both, if I am too lazy to go out, I can enjoy the music at home, but going to the club allows me to enjoy the vibes better,” said the DJ.

In addition, to assist Singaporeans in staying fit w. At the same time, they remain in their homes; Sport Singapore has called on the sports industry to develop innovative home-based activities between April and May in the context of the annual GetActive! Singapore campaign.

In addition to these programs, a few Singaporeans are using the video conference app Zoom -numerous organizations are employing it for virtual meetings, but security concerns have been raised recently — to exercise or participate in physical exercises at home.

The actress Sue Seah, who is in her 30s, is self-employed and has attended two online classes in Street Jazz and Urban Hip Hop at the O School of Dance. O School.

Viewers would follow the instructor’s instructions through a massive video conference of as many as 100 viewers. The two classes that Ms. Seah attended were packed to capacity.

“I think that in real life, the energy is really different… but the instructors have put in so much effort to make it interactive and fun so it is definitely better than having nothing,” she said.

Mrs. Chloe Ng, 40, an experienced senior financial service manager, has started hosting free Yoga and high-intensity interval training in the last week for friends and acquaintances who share a common interest. Each class has around 10 participants.

She also said her classes were lively, and students could ask questions. However, they’ve had some technical issues in the previous sessions.

“If I am doing a class physically, I can just walk over and correct their postures immediately which is easier,” she added.

For Mr. Allan Ong, 45, the head of his organization, the Singapore Sport Stacking Association, the pandemic hasn’t stopped him from organizing World.

Sport stacking, also called speed or cup stacking, requires athletes to stack and remove cups in various ways in the fastest time possible.

Last Sunday, the association organized a preliminary online competition dividing participants into several “rooms” on Zoom where judges will be present.

About 50 contestants have registered to compete in this weekend’s event.

Each one will have a timer that they press reforesting stacking, and then after the finishing. Ong stated that his most significant challenge is convincing spectators and other competitors that they’ll enjoy themselves online.

“I believe it’s similar to online shopping. Before people even try it, everyone says they would rather go to a physical store to try on the clothes. If everyone else is participating, it’s more fun,” he said.