Over 2.3 million women have left the labor force (through layoffs or by choice) since the pandemic began, according to the National Women’s Law Center. While women have been in a lot of the jobs that experienced layoffs, many of them chose to leave due to family needs. In fact, the number of women who left for child care or family-related responsibilities increased 178%, while the number of men who left for those reasons less than doubled.
We’ve known for a long time that being a working mom is challenging. We’ve known that women tend to shoulder more of the childcare and household responsibilities. And we’ve also known the tendency for women’s careers to be negatively impacted by family needs. If a working dad needs to leave early to attend his child’s school event, he’s praised for being an involved father. But if a working mom needs to leave early, there’s often more quickness to question her dedication and commitment to work.
Yes, there are some unique aspects to this pandemic (like remote schooling for months – read this post about helping your working parents with school-aged children). However, in many ways, this pandemic has simply exacerbated issues that already existed.
It’s time to make some helpful changes for working mothers. To give working mothers the ability to enjoy their careers and their families. To keep working mothers from leaving the workforce. If we don’t make use of this opportunity, things won’t really get better. Sure, some women might return to the workforce because they have to, but things won’t really have improved. The same stresses will still be there, and working mothers won’t be thriving like they could. Plus, you’ll end up with a lot of vacancies to fill.
Working Mom Q&A
I recently asked 2 questions on Instagram about working motherhood. Here are some highlights from the responses:
(1) What does the ideal working mom dynamic look like for you?
- Flexible/reduced work hours
- Ability to work from home
- Feasible work demands so not always working long hours or falling behind
(2) What do you wish your boss or employer knew about what it’s like to be a working mom?
- “We are 100% devoted to our job even when we have to balance caring for our families.”
- “Flexibility rules when it comes to support. Flex start time, remote, reduced hours etc”
- “Not volunteering for extra things or weekend work is not due to lack of ambition.”
With all of this in mind, where do you start?
Ask your working moms what they need.
Rather than coming up with ideas on your own and hoping they make a difference, involve your working moms. Ask them how things are going juggling work and family, and find out what their needs are. If working moms have left your organization during the pandemic, call them and find out what could have helped them stay with you. Chances are, you’ll find some common themes arise.
Provide flexibility.
We’ve learned that so many jobs can be done remotely. And, in many cases, we’ve also learned that everyone doesn’t have to have a 9-5 schedule. Be open to providing flexibility. One of the best things about flexibility is that it can be personalized to meet individual needs. It could include working remotely (some or all the time), different start/end times, and reduced hours (temporarily or permanently). Be willing to give it a try and see how it goes. It might go great!
Sometimes, flexibility is harder to provide to hourly jobs that rely on shifts. However, it’s just as important to to look to find ways to support working mothers in those jobs. Be open to brainstorming and figuring out how to provide flexibility.
Redefine “high performance.”
If you’re in a 40 hour/week salaried job, when’s the last time you only worked 40 hours? If it’s hard to recall, you’re not alone. There’s this huge tendency to think that the number of hours doesn’t matter. That it’s all about “getting the job done – whatever it takes.” And those we consider our high performers are the ones who go above and beyond. Those who come in early, leave late, respond to emails at all hours, and never take an actual vacation.
That’s a quick road to burnout for anyone. But there’s an extra pressure added on top of this for working moms – the need to prove dedication and commitment to work. To prove that they can still “do it all” while being there for their children. I’ve known so many moms who worked in the evenings to stay caught up.
It’s time to rethink the behaviors we encourage and reward at work. And it’s time to have more realistic job demands. We can reward dedication to a job while also supporting and encouraging personal lives. What’s great is that this will benefit everyone! Your employees will be encouraged to have healthier, more fulfilling lives. And you’ll gain more engaged, loyal, long-term employees. Win-win!
(As leaders, this also means monitoring the example you set. If you say you encourage balance but are sending emails to your employees at 2:00 a.m. and working during vacations, that can send a different message. Not only might employees feel like they need to do likewise, but they might be hesitant to seek promotion for fear of losing work/life balance.)
Provide paid maternity leave.
There’s no way I can write about caring for working moms without talking about paid maternity leave! This was a huge help for me when I became a first-time mom. Every employer should provide paid maternity leave (and paid paternity leave). It’s one of the best ways to provide initial support to your employees as they grow their families. Remember, FMLA isn’t paid, so it’s not enough to simply provide that. (And there’s a lot of research that 12 weeks isn’t nearly adequate.) Provide paid leave on top of any vacation or sick leave employees will be using.
Subsidize childcare.
I’m a huge advocate of employers assisting with childcare expenses. This is a very practical way to support working parents. In most cases, organizations don’t offer their own childcare. (If you do, that’s wonderful!) So, employees typically search around to find their own childcare. And childcare is extraordinarily expensive! I worked with a mom who left after having her third child because the cost of childcare exceeded her paycheck. Consider offering some sort of childcare subsidy or partnering with a childcare provider. I’m mostly familiar with Bright Horizons from my time at Wellstar, and they even offer backup care assistance for times when your regular childcare isn’t available.
Don’t forget working dads.
There’s absolutely a need to place extra focus on helping working moms to have enjoyable, fulfilling work experiences. In the process, though, don’t forget about working dads! Everything we’ve talked about can be provided to working parents and caregivers.
Bottom line – supporting your employees in whatever family-related responsibilities they may have is crucial to being a great workplace. As you support your working moms having healthy, balanced, fulfilling lives, you’ll gain a higher quality of work. The hours they spend working for you will be that much more productive and effective because of having better overall lives.
Photo credit: By Monkey Business Images
