Balancing Act: Professional Success and Motherhood

Navigating the Dual Role: Professional Life and Motherhood

Many working parents, particularly mothers, struggle to achieve a healthy balance between their professional and personal lives. While challenging, successfully managing both roles is entirely possible.

As a professional woman, you might feel solely responsible for raising your children while simultaneously supporting your family financially. However, if you have a partner, sharing these responsibilities can be beneficial. Whether through childcare assistance or sharing financial and domestic duties, your partner can provide valuable support. Regular communication about dividing household responsibilities is essential when feeling overwhelmed.

Unique Challenges for Working Mothers

Working mothers, especially those parenting alone, face distinct challenges. Beyond their numerous responsibilities, many feel pressured to achieve “perfect” parenting standards. These expectations can stem from various sources, including family circumstances, societal pressures, and personal history.

Parenting approaches vary widely, influenced by cultural beliefs, religious practices, moral values, and childhood experiences. In many contexts, women are expected to manage domestic responsibilities regardless of their professional commitments. Remember that your parenting style may evolve over time and with changing circumstances. Holding yourself to unrealistic standards often creates more problems than solutions.

Whether you’re a single parent or raising children with others, self-care is essential for functioning optimally and providing the best care for your family.

Finding Equilibrium as a Working Mother

Society’s views on women working outside the home continue to evolve. Research shows a significant shift in attitudes: in 1987, 30% of Americans believed women should maintain traditional roles, while 66% disagreed. Recent data shows only 19% now support women returning to traditional roles, with 75% disagreeing.

Despite these shifting attitudes, professional mothers often feel pressured to excel both at work and in parenting. These pressures may include accommodating additional requests from colleagues and children, such as working extended hours, participating in school organizations, or attending children’s extracurricular activities. Women of color face additional challenges, often having fewer leadership opportunities despite equal qualifications, while still being expected to manage the same work-life balance as those with broader systemic advantages.

Research published in the Australian Journal of Social Issues indicates that “employed mothers endure high levels of time pressure related to time poverty (insufficient time for necessary or discretionary activities), time intensity (multi-tasking and merging work and home boundaries) and time density (familial emotion and organizational work).”

The desire to “do it all” can overwhelm working mothers, leading to feelings of lost control and “parental burnout.” If you’re experiencing these feelings, several strategies can help you create balance between your professional and personal responsibilities.

Define Your Priorities and Honor Them

In work-life balance, “balance” rarely means an equal division. Different women have different priorities, and that’s perfectly acceptable. Identifying what you need versus what you want is the first step toward balancing your personal and professional life. Once determined, consider which priorities should remain constant and which can be flexible.

For example, if strong family communication is a primary need, scheduling uninterrupted conversation time might be a priority. Conversely, planning a vacation might qualify as a “want” rather than a “need,” requiring less urgency.

Incorporate Time-Management Practices

Many families maintain calendars listing activities and appointments. Some working women also keep detailed personal calendars to manage their time alongside family schedules.

Regardless of your preferred method, tracking how you spend your time daily, weekly, and monthly can be valuable. Many women integrate small time-saving habits into their routines, such as preparing lunches and selecting the next day’s clothing the evening before.

Planning meals and grocery shopping during weekends can also streamline weekday meal preparation.

Seek Support When Needed

Whether you have a partner or other support system, balancing work and childcare often requires assistance. Friends and family can provide this support, as can colleagues, your child’s teachers, or community members.

Asking trusted individuals for help can be instrumental in creating balance between your professional and personal responsibilities.

Practice Self-Care

Maintaining your physical health and wellbeing is a crucial aspect of self-care. Aim to eat nutritiously, exercise regularly, and schedule routine medical check-ups.

Self-care also involves dedicating time to activities you enjoy. Some women prefer pursuing hobbies, while others enjoy socializing. It’s about identifying what brings you joy outside work hours. Research indicates that practices like expressive writing through journaling can benefit mental health. Make time in your schedule for activities you love.

Connect with a Therapist

Many working mothers benefit from regular therapy sessions to discuss the challenges of simultaneously managing professional and personal responsibilities.

The stress that working mothers experience while seeking balance can develop into chronic stress. Defined by experts as “constant and persisting over an extended period,” chronic stress may lead to anxiety and depression when left unaddressed.

An experienced licensed clinical social worker can provide working women with strategies for managing workplace and domestic challenges to prevent chronic stress and mental burnout. If you’re already experiencing symptoms of chronic stress, consider speaking with a professional to prevent worsening symptoms.

Remember, work-life balance doesn’t necessarily mean an even division. Your priorities may shift with time and circumstances, and pressuring yourself to maintain an ideal standard might increase rather than alleviate stress.

Recognize the Benefits for Children of Working Mothers

Some women feel guilty about working while raising children, fearing potential negative impacts on their children’s development. However, research by Kathleen McGinn of Harvard Business School suggests there may be long-term benefits for children with working mothers.

The findings indicate that children raised by mothers who work outside the home may be more likely to hold supervisory positions and earn higher wages. The study also reveals that men raised by working mothers often participate more actively in family care and household responsibilities. This balance can lead to better division of domestic and professional responsibilities in future generations.

Finding Support Through ReachLink

Despite the benefits of professional support, many working mothers feel that the challenges of attending therapy outweigh the advantages. Some women struggle to find time for appointments and commuting to a therapist’s office.

ReachLink’s telehealth services offer a solution by providing convenient access to licensed clinical social workers through secure video sessions. This approach eliminates geographical barriers and offers greater scheduling flexibility compared to traditional in-person therapy, making it easier for busy working mothers to receive the support they need while balancing their professional and family responsibilities.