Huge opportunities for enterprising would-be care-givers have emerged from the Government’s announcement that the
country will be moving to a level three lockdown, according to a leading business operations consultant.
National business sales director at Bayleys Real Estate, Jayson Hayde, said that for the parents of many pre-school,
primary school, and intermediate-aged children, the added onus of having children based at home for the coming weeks
under level three would create a new level of domestic tensions in an already-stressful period.
“Hundreds of thousands of non-essential New Zealand employees are already working from home as part of corporate
self-isolation practices. For many parents of young children, that has meant having their laptop on the dining room
table or in the lounge as they undertake their day-to-day work routines,” said Mr Hayde.
“Additionally, there are hundreds of thousands more ‘essential’ employees who have been delicately balancing work-life
commitments during level four.
“The work from home scenario works well when the home environment is treated like an office workspace. However, add to
that having young children running around demanding attention, watching cartoons on the TV at full volume, demanding mum
or dad read them a book or take them to the park, and the home office in effect has become a creche or child-care
centre.
“In any other time, after-school childcare centres would be an option. However, with many centres and schools preferring
to educate just the children of essential workers, that option is off the table – essentially leaving many parents
wondering how they will cope not only working from home in their professional capacity, but simultaneously being the
usual fun-loving and attention-giving mum or dad.”
Mr Hayde said that with large pockets of the country’s retail, foodservice, and commercial accommodation workforces
being stood down by their employers as work dried up or in the interim while the country moved to level two, there was
consequently a large pool of service sector employees looking for paid work.
“The business opportunities are patently obvious – matching up the talent base of service sector workers with the
childcare demands of both work-from-home and essential worker parents. You could say it’s a new employment
classification…. COVID babysitters,” Mr Hayde said.
“Shop workers, restaurant waiters and waitresses, hotel concierges…. they are all ‘people people’ whose primary
workplace interaction is face-to-face with customers. COVID babysitters would be the same – just that their clientele
will be slightly younger.
“And with the many thousands of New Zealanders who have met and gotten to know their immediate neighbours and residents
on the same street over the past period of level four lockdown, new local networking circles have been created – many of
which will contain potential COVID babysitters.
“Thinking wider, neighbours with young school-age children could pool together to share the services of a Covid
babysitter – take the kids to the park or local playground, or assisting in rudimentary home schooling. At the end of
the day, some form of schooling is better than simply plonking the kids down in front of the TV of games console while
mum or dad try to work from the kitchen table.
“Unusual times call for innovative answers. At the end of the day though, it’s about coming up with solutions now which
will see the wider New Zealand public through in these uncertain times as we move toward level two and beyond.”