Photo by Tatiana Syrikova from Pexels
This is a guest post by Amanda Henderson. To learn more about Amanda visit the Guest Bloggers page.
Remote work is opening new doors for working mothers. Women with children are more likely to remain in the workforce when they have access to remote employment. Unlike traditional work arrangements that mandate on-site attendance during established business hours, remote work gives women the ability to balance earning an income and raising children — or at least, that’s how the story goes.
Despite the promises of remote work, the reality for work-at-home mothers is often far from balanced. A survey from InHerSight and HeyMama found that working from home while caring for children results in longer working hours, lower productivity, and less job satisfaction for women.
That’s not surprising considering that women continue to do a disproportionate share of unpaid domestic work including chores, childcare, and overseeing children’s schoolwork. Instead of coming home to the second shift, remote working mothers are trying to juggle both jobs at the same time. Danielle Rivenbark presents some tips that can help moms strike that balance.
How can work-from-home work for women?
Despite the challenges of being a work-at-home mom, women want to work remotely. What does it take for work-from-home to fit the needs of working parents?
Flexibility
The option to work from home is a great perk, but work-at-home moms need even more flexibility from employers.
Flexible work hours ranks high on working mothers’ wish lists. Flexible hours allow parents to work when they’re most productive rather than pulling double-duty with work and childcare. Part-time work, flextime, compressed workweeks, and job sharing are four types of flexible schedules.
Flexible deadlines relieve another source of stress for working mothers. Clarifying expectations around deadlines and asking for more time as needed boosts job performance and satisfaction. Jobs with strict deadlines and frequent meetings, on the contrary, negatively impact mothers’ work-life balance.
Support
While greater flexibility enables work-at-home mothers to arrange their day as they see fit, it doesn’t solve the problem of overworking.
Outsourcing day-to-day responsibilities ease women’s workloads while keeping families together at home. In addition to home cleaning services, mothers can outsource setting appointments, answering emails, and other personal administrative tasks. Virtual assistants are available from around the world, which means you’re not limited by region; for example, you may find that the person who checks all the boxes lives in the Philippines. Just be sure to sign up for sites such as Remitly that will allow you to easily pay for their services. These payments can be sent to bank accounts or mobile wallets or picked up as cash.
Informal childcare is another cost-effective option for families. Hiring an in-home babysitter or part-time nanny allows uninterrupted work hours, prevents disruptions during important meetings, and avoids the high costs and inflexible schedules of typical childcare centers.
Support from fellow mothers is vital as women transition to the remote workforce. This support can come in practical forms, such as setting up a nanny share or petitioning an employer for flexible work policies, or as social support to overcome the isolation of being a remote working mom.
Self-Care
Finally, work-at-home mothers need to care for themselves in order to avoid burnout. Personal time may be limited for working mothers but even busy parents can find balance.
Boundaries are less natural in a work-from-home setting but no less important. Even without set work hours, working mothers can set boundaries around work by creating predictable family routines, using a dedicated workspace, and incorporating important meetings and deadlines into the family calendar.
Scheduled “me-time” belongs in the family calendar as well. Delegating childcare to a spouse, relative, or mom friend for a few hours gives women an opportunity to rest and restore.
Communicating needs and limitations is a must for overwhelmed work-at-home mothers. A mother’s workload is heavy and there’s no shame in struggling to carry it alone. Spouses can discuss the distribution of household chores without negativity by clearly defining their needs and using “I” statements to convey the message.
We’ve seen how the hard work of working mothers can transform families. Yet even as remote work makes employment more accessible for women with children, work-life balance remains elusive. Flexibility, support, and self-care will be essential as more women pursue work-from-home opportunities and a better, more balanced future for their families.