One thing that is sure about the pandemic, is that it has definitely radically altered the way we think about work, especially as working women and moms. As we went through the pandemic and watched the lines between work, life and parenting being blurred, throwing working moms and women into an abyss of unending and exhausting responsibilities and struggles. As a result, many, if not most working women and moms, have been re-thinking their careers and what they truly want out of work.
According to a recent research by McKinsey, one in four working women in North America revealed they were considering a career downshift or dropping out of the workforce entirely. This shift in career attitudes and expectations clearly shows women and moms are stepping away from traditional views on work, and redefining its meaning in their lives. However, for many, this also equates to stepping onto unfamiliar territory. After all, most of what we known as far as work and careers go, comes from traditional perspectives passed on from previous generations. For the longest time, work has been confined to something we do to earn a living, separate from who we are and the personal parts of our lives. Today, and especially after the pandemic, the lines between the personal and professional have been incredibly, and probably irretrievably, blurred. We work from the same homes we raise our kids in, often on the same kitchen tables we eat our family meals on, in the same environment we live, breathe and evolve in every single day. Sometimes, work even involves sharing some of our most private moments on screen and social media, when our positions require it or when our careers err on the side of unconventionality. In any case, work is definitely not what it used to be, which is only one more reason to revisit our careers and what we truly want out of it…
Yet, where do we even begin in this monumental quest to re-define what we want out of work, when the last thing we need is yet another monumental task on our to-do list. This is the question so many working women and moms are asking themselves at this very moment, as some are forced to exit the workforce for lack of adequate childcare and others are seeking a relief from chronic burnout. The reality is, revisiting the very meaning and purpose of our careers is not a one-time thing. The reality is, it’s a process that requires regular attention and dedication. While it may vary from individual to individual, depending on personal preferences, circumstances and choices, it’s anchored in three major principles, including:
Shifting Your Mindset
Rethinking the meaning, place and purpose of work in our lives is no easy feat. Considering the amount and sheer number of pressures faced by the average person, from financial to economic and personal pressures, stepping outside of the traditional norms of work in order to create one’s own definition of professional success can be a daring act in and of itself. Yet, it’s very much a necessary one…
How would you envision your ideal career if money and the other pressures of life were non-existent? What would professional fulfillment and purpose look like to you? How would you rethink your career ambitions to fit your life, personality and priorities?
Organizing your Priorities
Speaking of priorities, a big part of rethinking our careers as working women and moms is also a matter of organizing, and re-organizing our priorities. One thing the pandemic exposed for many, if not most of us, is the lack of boundaries existing between the different areas of our lives. Let’s remember for working women and moms, work is all around, from the professional work we do in and out of the office, to the work we do at home folding laundry, cooking meals and homeschooling kids…
While much of this lack of boundaries was a result of extreme circumstances imposed to us by a global health crisis, a significant part of it was inherited from a latent inequity in social roles and responsibilities at the expense of working women and moms’ balance, health and sanity. This is where understanding, acknowledging and organizing our priorities comes into play…
What truly matters to you? What can you delegate or get more help and assistance on? What are non-negotiables in your work and life? What constitutes a sacred space for you? These are all questions that touch to the core of who we are as working women and moms, that have been neglected for far too long in favor of the proverbial hustle to get it all done. Maybe this is the time to put them back on the table…
Learning to Set Boundaries
Where lines between work and every other area of our lives have been blurred during the pandemic, most of us have realized the urgent need for boundaries in the way we work and live. As we re-imagine our careers in the wake of this crisis, we’re also slowly learning to stop teetering on the edge of personal and professional burnout and exhaustion. This requires getting re-acquainted with the concept of boundaries.
What boundaries do you feel are lacking in your work and life? How did this impact you during the pandemic? What kind of boundaries would you set in your ideal career?
As so many working women and moms are reframing their vision of their careers after the pandemic, many questions are coming to the forefront. While these are challenging our traditional views on work, they’re also helping create the new working world for women and moms.
Are you rethinking what you want out of your career after the pandemic?
Welcome to this week’s News Roundup, where we chat about what happened in the news around working women and moms’ careers, businesses, parenting and lifestyles. Read up…
Black Enterprise reveals groundbreaking ophtalmologist Dr. Patricia E. Bath is set to become one of the first Black women inducted in the National Hall of Fame;
Need to audit and re-design your life? Forbes defines how the Intentional Pause project can help you do just that;
Changing careers? Recruiterblogs suggests you consider a few additional options;
Are you into backpacks? Fast Company lists the most fashionable backpacks for adults;
Feeling rushed all the time? Zen Habits suggests ways to feel more spaciousness in your day;
Want to sound more confident? Lifehacker tells you to drop a few phrases from your vocabulary;
With the end of Daylight Saving time, Mother.ly has a few tips on how to “fall back” with kids.
If you’ve ever wondered about how to deal with change in your career and life, you owe it to yourself to read this book. “Who moved my cheese?” by Dr. Spencer Johnson was recommended during a professional training, igniting my curiosity. I literally devoured it in one evening…
This short story featuring two mice and two little humans faced with a shortage of cheese at their usual cheese station reminds us the only constant is change. When both the little mice and little humans show up one day to no longer cheese at their usual cheese station, they’re surprised and unprepared to deal with this seemingly new turn of events. While the “simpler” little mice accept their new circumstances without much questioning and embark on a search for new cheese, the little humans go through a more laborious process, questioning the change at hand and hesitating to adapt to their new reality. Through their thought process, behaviors and lessons learned, they reveal to us the intricacies of our own nature when faced with the “new” and the lessons learned along the way.
It’s quite easy to identify with the characters, especially the little humans who are more hesitant to recognize and adapt to change. In a few short words and a powerful anecdote, Dr. Spencer Johnson expertly manages to place a mirror in front of us as readers, confronting us with the reality of our core instincts of self-preservation, comfort and predictability. He presents the dilemma of change so many of us face with a simple tale of humanity that can be applied to any area of work or life.
“Who Moved My Cheese?”, in its simplicity and truth, is a game-changer when it comes to dealing with change at work and in life. It not only prompts us to look within at our own beliefs and attitudes about personal and professional transitions, but also to realize and confirm the necessity of change in life. More importantly, it teaches us all to anticipate change, adapt to it, and enjoy the process.
Welcome to our #AskACPA feature, where we answer accounting, financial and business questions. Send us your questions at corporate@thecorporatesister.com.
Question: Should I report my side hustle income in my taxes?
The answer is yes! Any money you make through your side hustle is income, and should be added as such as part of your income taxes. Whether you babysit on the weekends, walk dogs every now and then, or freelance as a writer, in addition to your main job, the income you generate on the side should be reported.
If you hustle on the side by working for a company, and earn more than $600 in the course of the year, most likely you will get a taxable income form (1099-K or 1099-MISC) from the company outlining the amount of money you earned.
Your side hustle income affects your total taxable income, which is why it’s so important to track it. You can do this by opening a dedicated business checking or savings account, and setting money aside out of your revenue for taxes.
Got more accounting, financial or business-related questions. Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com
As we’re starting to emerge from the global COVID-19 pandemic, one thing we can all say is that we’ve become quite familiar with change. From one day to the other, we’ve gone from going about our daily lives the way we’ve always known, to being hunkered down in our homes, homeschooling our kids, and working remotely. Talk about a total change…
For working women and moms, this change has been even more drastic, as society unconsciously reverted to a more traditional setting with traditional gender roles. What this means for working women and moms is having to shoulder the unfair and unequal weight of household, child-rearing and elderly care responsibilities, in addition to work and other duties. What this also meant during this pandemic, and still means to this day, is that the type of drastic change we’ve been forced into has been so much more detrimental to working women and moms. No wonder so many working women and moms have been pressured into a mass exodus out of their careers for lack of adequate childcare, among other reasons…
Yet, change is not all bad. Quite to the contrary. In his best-selling book, “Who Moved My Cheese”, Dr. Spencer Johnson teaches an edifying lesson about change through the short, yet powerful story of a couple of mice and little humans dealing with change. His book, a masterpiece in simple, practical change management in my opinion, reminds us all of that the only constant is change. As such, change should not be avoided, or resisted, or even worse, fought against. Instead, we’re reminded to embrace the gift of change, along with the opportunities it brings along.
As beneficial as change may be, its recent manifestations have not necessarily been good to working women and moms. How then can working women and moms leverage change in their careers especially, when the latter are being particularly threatened by the current societal and business changes at play, from remote work to lack of childcare? Can otherwise seemingly challenging circumstances be reframed to allow for positive change? The answer is yes.
Here are three tips to consider:
Actively expect change (and prepare for it)
The only constant is change. As much as we may be creatures of comfort, we have to contend with the reality that nothing stays the same. For many, if not most of us, this requires a mindset change in how we see ourselves, the people surrounding us, and the environments around us.
By making peace with the fact that change will happen, we can develop a preemptive inner resilience to bring us through change in a positive and productive way. We’re also better equipped to monitor ourselves and the world around us for signs of change, and begin to prepare for it while adverting the related inevitable negative consequences.
As working women and moms, it can mean setting up systems and processes in our work and lives that can stand change. For many, it’s creating additional streams of income through side hustles and businesses, building investing resources, or automating certain tasks to make room to pivot when needed.
Adapt!
Adaptability is one of the most valuable personal and professional skills. For working women and moms who juggle so many balls in the air, and face so many more opportunities to experience change, it’s literally indispensable.
Think of it as cultivating the resilience, creativity, innovative spirit and strategies to reinvent ourselves as environments, people and circumstances around us morph. While adaptability requires courage and the aptitude to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations, it also offers the incredible gift of reinvention and pivoting, both professionally and personally.
For many working women and moms during the pandemic, it’s meant learning to adapt to remote work while homeschooling kids and running a household, among other responsibilities. This in turn has generated treasures of creativity, resulting in cutting-edge new businesses, innovative ways to work, and fresher ways to approach the always-elusive work-life balance.
Enjoy the process
Change is not to be feared. Rather, it’s an opportunity to face uncertainty with an open mind and positive perspective. In many ways, it’s an adventure back to the core of who we are, uncovering layers of our personalities and mindsets we may not have suspected unless faced with the prospect of change. More than anything, it’s an inevitable process whose rewards, most of which are unseen, well outweigh the costs . Enjoy it!
If we can’t avoid change, especially as working women and moms, then we shouldn’t miss the opportunity to maximize its potential in our work and lives. By preparing for it, adapting to it, and enjoying the process, we have the potential of turning what most fear into some of the biggest opportunities of our lifetimes.
