Supporting moms working from home during a pandemic
With schools closing across the U.S. in response to COVID-19, working mothers are struggling to manage their children’s education at home, on top of fulfilling professional and ongoing household responsibilities. To identify ways to support their members in meeting the increased professional, domestic, and educational demands of the home, HeyMama teamed up with architecture studio SOUR and Openbox to investigate the situation.
Openbox conducted a mini-research sprint with seven families that we designed to take place entirely on the WhatsApp messaging platform. Distributing our conversations over the course of one week allowed participants to respond in the moment—and moments that worked best for their schedules—and us to take a deeper look into the challenges they face.
- Featured at EPIC 2021, in the Pecha Kucha format. EPIC is the leading community for applied ethnography. "Reconfiguring Home: Seeing Remote Work and School through Mothers and Their Children"
- Continued by SOUR into Family Pockets, a "kit of activities that integrates everyday objects and home surroundings to support families in creating opportunities to bond, communicate and collaborate. The kit is inspired by conversations and co-designing with a group of mothers and their children."
