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You know the drill, you’re on it, meeting, even exceeding deadlines and goals, keeping on your grind, coming in early to get yours (and others’) work done. And here it is, 5:15pm, and your boss is sending you an IM to come in to his office to discuss some project you handed in last month for review! Really? And here you are, looking at your watch, realizing you’re already late to pick up the kids, and you’re probably not going to make it tonight, yet again…Story of a gazillion working moms out there! And what gets done in most cases: nada, ziltsch, nothing!
Granted we all have to take our work responsibilities seriously (and in case you were thinking, the myth of the distracted working mom is just that, a myth), and that most of us know by now work-life balance is just as elusive as the no-carb diet, the unrealistic demands and stereotypes placed on working moms keep on taking a heavy toll not only on these women, but also on companies and the economy in general that keeps on losing great workers to unfair, and frankly inefficient practices.
Truth is, work is a part of life, and not the other way around. As part of this life thing, women have had to pick their kids up for decades. So have men. That’s just part of life. So if both work and picking up your kids are part of normal life, nothing fancy, what seems to be the problem? Is there even a problem, or are we as a society making our lives, and the work that’s a part of it, unnecessarily complicated? Sounds simplistic? Well, try explaining to your 5-year old why they’ve had to wait on the school steps three times this week…
Yes, there’s work to be done, yet there’s also a life to be lived. Part of the work and the life we’re given is to ensure we can manage both efficiently enough so they don’t spill on each other. That includes running the day before it runs us, and not decide to wait until after-hours to address an important project (that you’ve been sitting on for a month)…
Just sayin’….
The Corporate Sis.
