Working Moms
When you are a working mom it is sometimes hard to have a work life balance where you feel you are giving all aspects of your life the energy they deserve. Being a stressed out working mom is not a singular occurrence; 66% of women with a child under the age of 17 have a full-time job.
The first thing you need to ask yourself when you have a baby is do you want to one of the thousands of working moms, or would you prefer to be a stay-at-home mom. Many women are guilt ridden with the thought of leaving their baby in the care of a babysitter or daycare when they are less than a year old. Other working moms are anxious to get back to the mental stimulation that work offers them, as well as the interaction with other adults. Choosing to put off returning to the workforce after having a baby is just as normal as returning is. There is no right or wrong answer; only what works best for you.
The next question, if you have made the choice to return to work, is whether or not to go back to the actual work place, or become a working mom at home. Both offer pros and cons to the life of a working mom and, depending on your individual personality, can work.
How do Decide to be a Working Mom
The decision to be a full-time stay-at-home mom cannot be made purely based on your own needs. Mothers need to think about what is best for the entire family. Here are some things to think about that WebMD put together for women deciding to be working moms, stay-at-home moms, or working moms from home:
- Money. This is the basic necessity that pushes most moms to go back to work. Think about how being a full-time working mom will affect the family savings and family spending of you, your spouse and children.
- Personal Preference. Staying home because you feel guilty about leaving your baby or kids alone will show. Experts say a mother’s feeling of fulfillment and the quality (versus quantity) of time she spends with her child are the biggest components to their intellectual and emotional development.
- Your Spouse. The support of your spouse is going to make the times when you are both in the house a lot calmer and a lot more productive, no matter what choice you make about going back to work.
- Social Network. No matter if you decide to be a work from home mom or a work from the office mom, make sure you have a social network of individuals – preferably one like you – who can give moral and physical support.
- Family Friendly Workplace. Does your workplace offer a family friendly atmosphere? If you decide to work from home, will your boss and team be supportive of your choices? If you are a working mom will your boss understand if you need to run home during child emergencies, or leave early to pick kids up from school? Know these things before even having your baby, or while searching for a job.
- Expectations. Our society, for better or worse, has certain expectations of a family. There is a mom, a dad, children, most likely a pet, a white picket fence and a sedan. If a parent stays at home, it’s the mom. How many families fit this mold? Not many. In light of this, make sure you are willing to undergo whatever stereotypes our culture will throw at you. Do not let any cultural pressures make you feel guilty about decisions you make. If you are happy with your decision, so the world will be as well.
With these things in mind, make your decision to be a working mom, and decide whether or not you want to work from home or the office. If you do work from home make sure you have an area with a desk, computer, Internet connection, and a door. The door is especially important when you need time away from your children to get work done. When you work from home there are plenty of distractions to keep you from doing your work… make sure you can compartmentalize those distractions and get the proper amount of work done that you need to do.
