Why we shouldn't have to choose...
A few months ago I watched a “Ted Talks” episode in which the speaker talked about the work culture that has developed in this country. Mainly, the type of work culture that has become not family friendly. What do I mean by that? I am lucky to have found a place of employment where my boss understands that I typically cannot stay at work past 5 o’clock, I cannot travel often to work related conferences, nor can I be at work earlier than 8 am and all for one good reason, my children. It has become the norm in this country that you have to make a choice between a family life and a successful career and somehow both are never pictured together. “I will focus on my career and have children later” has become the new plan for many women. This is because there is no room for a ‘professional woman’ to be wiping butts at home and pumping milk during breaks at work. It is almost as if a parent and in this specific case, a mother is not as ambitious, focused, and determined to perform well on the job just because she is a mother. If anything, a mother can be one of the best employees you can have as she has children that depend on her and therefore her success on the job is crucial. What I cannot wrap my mind around is why employers do not empower working parents because not only would it relieve a lot of unnecessary stress, it would also build loyalty and foster a healthy work culture. It would enable working women to focus more on the job, rathen than worrying if they stand a chance to be seen as on par with their childless colleagues. It is not that mothers are less dedicated just because they cannot work around the clock. I truly believe that it’s not how many hours you put into the day but what you do with the hours you do work. Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure mothers are disciplined. Try waking up every hour on the hour for a few months and caring for a newborn if you have any doubt that mothers are disciplined. I know that it can be different and a woman does not have to sacrifice a career to enjoy being a mother and does not have to sacrifice motherhood to accomplish great things in her professional endeavors.
There are companies out there now trying to set the example such as Virgin that is very accommodating to new parents providing months of paid leave and the security of a job upon return from said leave. Now I know that this is a big company and they can do that, but there are so many things that can be changed in every company big and small that’s out there to help accommodate new families and working parents. How do you think a mother’s productivity will be if she is left feeling insecure, worried, and anxious about her work performance if she is always to be compared to those who are not bound by parental responsibility? Now, how do you think a mother will feel towards her work place if she knows that her place of employment values and respects family life and does not cultivate a culture where success can only be achieved my living on the job? Well, I know how I feel and that is grateful that my employer understands how important family is and that it does not take away from how good of an employee I can be just because I am a mother. It would take a lot of small changes to have a truly significant shift in the right direction. I think more people should talk and write about this so that the issue could come to the surface. Company owners should have a thorough understanding of their employees needs and psychology in order to understand what type of policies and expectations should be implemented for optimal performance on the job and also job satisfaction. Women should not have to put a career before family unless that is the personal choice. A woman should not be forced to go back to work when their newborn baby is a mere 6 weeks old. Now, is there a petition we can sign to get this revolution started?
