Maggie Clayton: We women are dealing with the lockdown a lot better than men. Our multi-tasking sees to that

We are now several weeks into the lockdown, and I have to admit that some of the gloss is wearing off the working from home idea.

I, probably like many other people, thought it was a fantastic concept when it first became part of this new phase of coping with coronavirus.

Most of us welcomed the novel idea of not having to travel to work every morning, being spared traffic jams and overcrowded public transport – and saving more than a few quid at the same time.

How civilised, we assumed it would be, to get up that bit later, and to have a pleasant stroll from your kitchen after a lovely breakfast, to your new place of work – to sit down at your computer, and get to grips with that day’s workload, and to do it in your own time without any interruption.

Yes, we knew we might miss the cheeky office banter, but the freedom of working at your own pace and deciding how to plan your day was a new and welcome challenge.

But in the past week or so, quite a few friends and family members have been in touch to say that there is a slant on the pros and cons of the lockdown which, with hindsight, is not entirely unexpected.

The bottom line is – and I’m sorry if you find this a bit sexist – but men working from home handle things very differently from women.

They need a room of their own.

Once they have logged on to their laptops, they do not wish to be disturbed.

They expect a morning coffee to be served.

They want to know what’s on the menu for lunch.

The phone must be left free for their incoming calls.

There must be no interruptions – of any kind – while they are working, and they will decide when it’s time to stop.

Women meanwhile, are happy to work from home with a laptop perched on the kitchen table.

They are the ones who answer phone calls and collect any parcels that are delivered to the door.

They go online to pay all the bills for the newsagent, to order grocery deliveries.

They serve the family breakfast, lunch and dinner.

They cuddle a child who has had a fall and needs a bandage on a sore knee.

They answer the phone when it rings.

They chat to the eldery relatives, gently explaining why the family can’t pop round for a visit.

Mums solve a squabble between their son and daughter about what they want to watch on TV.

They clear up the messy worktops in the kitchen after their children have made a snack.

They take the dog for a walk because no one else has got around to it.

If their boss phones, they need to move to another room because of the background noise.

Does anyone bring mum a cup of tea, answer any of the children’s questions?

Or notice that the bread supply is running low, the fruit bowl is empty and the cat has had the last of the milk?

Unlikely.

Women are natural multi-taskers, that’s just the way it is, folks.

We’ve always had to be, and coronavirus hasn’t changed that.

So it’s not surprising that working from home for a woman presents challenges to which men are oblivious.

They need peace and quiet in order to think. We can think on our feet, against a background of squabbling kids, noisy TV and a salesman on the phone asking if he could give you an estimate for a new roof?

Some of my female friends and family are enjoying working from home but they say they miss the banter of the office, and the subtle separation of role changing which takes place when you leave the domestic situation behind.

This is not an issue which troubles the male of the species.

Working from home?

It’s a piece of cake – with the morning cuppa.