A number of our employees are field-based, but due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the lockdown, we have had to change the way we work overnight. Our teams are now figuring out and navigating the new normal, trying to manage and maintain a work-life balance.
Here is an excerpt from a recent conversation we had with Prachi Naik, the Project Manager of our Institutional Placement Program who has been navigating the new normal with her family in these unprecedented times.  

I have been working at Prerana since 2006. I joined the organization soon after I finished my Masters of Social Work from SNDT Women’s University. I am currently the Project Manager of Prerana’s Institutional Placement Program (IPP) and work very closely with Prerana’s Night Care Center (NCC) team which works with children of women victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking living in the red-light areas of Kamathipura, Falkland Road and Vashi-Turbhe. While we have a number of children availing of our NCC services, there are some who are at risk and in need of care at protection i.e. to be moved to a Child Care Institution (CCI) – a 24×7 shelter facility. The IPP team works with these children and their mothers. We assess the situation of both the mother and the child after which we present the case to the Child Welfare Committees (CWC) which then decides if the child needs to be placed in a CCI and the duration of the stay. Our team also follows up with the child post-placement and works closely with the mother to ensure regular contact with the child. We are a team of three working from different centers.
On 19^th March we had a team meeting to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of having to keep the offices closed. We had initially talked about staying indoors for two weeks and rejoining on the 1^st of April. I went home that day and told my 10-year-old son I would be home for the next two weeks. He was so excited and began planning all the fun activities he wanted to do together. Then on 25^th March, a Nation-wide lockdown was announced. I had never imagined that two weeks would end up being 82 days and counting.
This is the first time I’ve been home for such a long time since the birth of my son in 2011. My work is field-based and I have never worked from home before. I had set a routine, I would wake up in the morning, prepare the meals, drop my son off at the daycare service, and head to work. In the evening I would pick him up, spend time with him, eat our dinner, and head to bed. Most of our fun and family activities were on weekends and holidays.
My son was used to seeing me at home on my weekly offs, when one of us was unwell or if I took the day off. He has never seen me ‘work from home’. Though he has seen me take work calls and discuss cases with my colleagues or speak to clients. At Prerana we are always encouraged to maintain a work-life balance. Unless for an emergency, we don’t take calls outside of work hours nor do we respond to emails.
Once the lockdown began, I realized that I now have to work from home, complete my domestic chores, and care for my child throughout the day. At home, it’s just my husband, son, and myself. I realized there were no ‘office hours’ anymore. My home was now meant to function as my workplace, this took a toll on the work-life balance I had tried so hard to maintain. The lack of physical boundaries between the two otherwise separate environments impacted both my work and family dynamics. During work meetings, my son would interrupt and want me to spend time with him. While my husband has been helping a lot around the house with chores, but he isn’t as equipped with basic skills like cooking or managing a home.
I wasn’t the only one experiencing this, my team too had been facing similar challenges. We found ourselves doing domestic chores, child care, and work through the day with no time for ourselves. A few weeks into the lockdown I realized I needed to do something about this and take charge of the situation somehow. The first step I took was to fix things at home, fortunately for me, my husband and son know how much I love my job. I discussed boundaries with my family, I helped my son understand that he needed to respect my work hours and the sudden change in our lifestyles.  I also had to support my son through this change and transition, he has had and continues to have and ask many questions, I feel responsible to address them as well. We also discussed each one’s roles and responsibilities, this transition wasn’t easy, things didn’t change overnight.  
Next, I tackled work, my team and I discussed the best suited time for us to virtually meet and discuss work, this made us improve reporting and communication within the team. We also decided not to get on work-related calls between 7 pm to 10 am the next day unless urgent. If required we would text the other person first.
Both at home and with my colleagues we discussed how lack of discipline could trigger chaos in our personal and professional lives. At home my husband and I divided household chores, we also discussed how we each need our own personal time and space and we need to be respectful of that. I ensure my husband and son know my daily schedule and we plan our day accordingly.
Since the IPP teams’ work revolves around follow-ups of the children in CCIs, we first sent a message to the CCI’s inquiring about their health, wellbeing, and if they needed any assistance. After fixing a phone appointment with the CCI staff we got on calls to discuss how we would be going ahead with follow up while ensuring that we respect the time of the staff there and respecting the schedule of the children whom we were following up with. We also discussed and fixed time and date for when the mother could call and speak to her child. We spoke to the children and shared about the current situation, helping them understand what the new normal would be like. Many of the mothers we work with were anxious about not meeting their children, we shared that this was in the best interest of the children to ensure safety for both of them. It was heartening to see how the mothers accepted this change.
Since April, the office has let us work 5 days a week (initially we used to work on every alternate Saturday), this gave me a chance to catch up on my personal life and house-hold chores. My family has been very understanding, and we have gotten ourselves into a routine of sorts.
The new normal is difficult, the change is slow, adjustments have to be made. I try to ensure that I plan my schedule in a way that it’s a win-win for my family, my colleagues, the community we work with, and myself.