Remote Collaborative Childcare in the Workplace: Sharing Childcare with Colleagues during COVID-19 Emergency

The COVID-19 emergency and consequent lockdowns left many parents struggling to balance childcare and paid employment, exposing the crucial role of work-life balance policies and practices. As a consequence, co-production initiatives has seen a sharp rise, with the creation of many different grassroots activities, also related to childcare services. Although it is not clear whether these initiatives will continue after the pandemic, they provide an interesting laboratory to investigate digitally mediated co-production of services. This paper presents a case study of a grassroot initiative based on the co-production of childcare services within an organizational context. We report on how this initiative has been adapted during the COVID-19 emergency, discussing how the community of colleagues reacted to the new challenges of the pandemic, and the technological and organizational arrangements that have accompanied such changes. Results from interviews and focus groups revealed the mediating role that digital technology played in the co-production, presenting challenges and opportunities to working parents while dealing with a period of emergency and isolation. These findings suggest implications for organizations to promote remote collaborative childcare practices and support workers wellbeing and work-life balance, considering motivational and social aspects and the role of technology in fostering co-production practices.