‘Work-life balance’ may often seem like something far off, inconsistent, and unachievable. To many working mothers, the boundaries of work and home life may overlap, making the balance of the two even more difficult. Mornings start with chaos: half-eaten breakfasts, quickly packed lunches, sluggish dress-up times, teary drop-offs, and everything in between – all of which occurs before your supposed ‘work life’ begins. After a long day of work, the second shift begins – frantic pick-ups, dinner, calculus, homework help, bedtime routines, and so much more. Once the kids are in bed, the loose ends remain – cleaning duties, last-minute workplace deadlines, planning for the next day, etc. Although work and home life may look different for every working mother, the challenge is often the same: how can I balance all of this and still be present for my family and my work?
Today, we are starting a new blog series dedicated to learning how to better integrate the many roles and responsibilities we have.
A first place to start is to shift from the idea of work-life balance to the idea of work-life integration. Balance assumes everything will be split evenly: 50% work and 50% life. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that work and life are not separate, but instead may be better thought of as a single dinner plate on which you must include all the different food categories. This is not an easy thing to adjust to, and changes since COVID-19 have made it more challenging than ever to have a well-integrated life.
During the pandemic (and today), many working mothers were asked to include more childcare ingredients to their plates as they had to care for ailing children, to monitor virtual schooling, etc. In a recent study we conducted, mothers reported taking more days off of work, and passing up promotions and training opportunities. Why? Due to school closures and difficulty finding childcare, most of the additional home responsibilities fell on working mothers. The portion of their plate available for work was smaller due to the increased child-care responsibilities. Unfortunately, this increased demand did not end with the pandemic, leaving mothers to still face ever-increasing challenges in our post-pandemic world.
So how can working mothers achieve work-life integration, especially during trying times? Honestly, the answer may look different for every mother. However, we will spend the next few blog posts giving specific suggestions for moving towards integration through a handy acronym known as GAMES: Goal setting, asking for help, mindfulness, emotions, and seeking support.
Goal setting | Asking for help | Mindfulness | Emotions | Seeking support |
Stay tuned!