Managing Working Parents During the Pandemic | HBR IdeaCast episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 11, 2026 · 34 MIN

Managing Working Parents During the Pandemic | HBR IdeaCast

from Harvard Business Review · host HBR

Managing Working Parents During the Pandemic | HBR IdeaCast 15 Mar 2023 --- Ellen Ernst Kossek, management professor at Purdue University, is researching how the pandemic is putting an enormous strain on working parents and the new challenge that poses for their managers. She shares how supervisors can offer much-needed consistency and predictability for working parents on their teams. She also outlines specific ways to give working parents more flexibility while still holding them accountable. Kossek is the coauthor, with Kelly Schwind Wilson and Lindsay Mechem Rosokha, of the HBR article “What Working Parents Need from Their Managers.” This episode originally aired on HBR IdeaCast on November 10, 2020. Listen to more HBR IdeaCast episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzAU8TPKsJuaxff5Cp0P2DKE_tFyaWOOa You can also listen to this episode on HBR.org, and wherever you listen to podcasts: - HBR.org (transcript available here): https://hbr.org/podcast/2020/11/managing-working-parents-during-the-pandemic - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/managing-working-parents-during-the-pandemic/id152022135?i=1000497975212 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7v4Ii5hb8aHWO4n6aqlDWd?si=I9Sxf-1wR-ilMg6B-x0tKw - Stitcher https://listen.stitcher.com/yvap/?af_dp=stitcher://episode/79282001&af_web_dp=https://www.stitcher.com/episode/79282001&deep_link_value=stitcher://episode/79282001 - Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLmhhcnZhcmRidXNpbmVzcy5vcmcvaGFydmFyZGJ1c2luZXNzL2lkZWFjYXN0/episode/dGFnOmF1ZGlvLmhici5vcmcsMjAwNi0wNS0wODppZGVhY2FzdC4wNzY2?sa=X&ved=0CAIQuIEEahcKEwiA_r2ditz9AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA Series Description: A weekly podcast featuring the leading thinkers in business and management. About Harvard Business Review: Harvard Business Review is the leading destination for smart management thinking. Through its flagship magazine, books, and digital content and tools published on HBR.org, Harvard Business Review aims to provide professionals around the world with rigorous insights and best practices to help lead themselves and their organizations more effectively and to make a positive impact. Learn more at www.hbr.org. Chapters: 00:00 – Intro 1:52 – This is Management’s – Not the Individual’s – Problem 3:43 – Managers: Make Work Predictable Yet Flexible 8:55 – Four Behaviors of Supportive Managers 12:44 – How to Make Sure the Work Still Gets Done 18:58 – Flexibility in Essential and Frontline Work 24:29 – Longterm Effects of Flexibility 26:47 – Outro Follow Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/harvard-business-review/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/HBR/ https://twitter.com/HarvardBiz https://www.instagram.com/harvard_business_review/ Sign up for Newsletters: https://hbr.org/email-newsletters #HarvardBusinessReview #business #management Copyright © 2022 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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