You can find plenty of articles online that discuss motherhood and work. The majority of these talk about women empowerment and how they have attained success in their professional lives. However, they never hit on how hard it becomes for them to look after their family, especially their kids. It’s not easy for a mom to stay away from her children for long. But they do need to earn to maintain a proper lifestyle and provide for the expenses of the little ones. So we’re here to shine a light on that particular aspect — here are six challenges a working mother endures throughout her journey and the issues people don’t generally talk about.
Stress
According to several researchers, working women have higher stress levels as compared to women who are busy the whole day either working or parenting. Balancing both of them requires multitasking and can lead to huge physical and mental pressure. As a consequence, such women tend to vent out their frustration on their families or their colleagues at the workplace. That leads to guilt later on, and that results in more stress. This is a symptom that has been observed in single working mothers. Studies reveal that this is the reason why many women prefer to become a full-time mom or earn while working from home.
Sharing Household Chores
It’s a good thing that male partners have started shouldering household responsibilities with their wives these days. With that being said, women still have to bear the lion’s share of work at home. Full-time moms can stay at home while taking care of the kids and doing their bit of domestic chores. But a working mother needs to add income to the family and simultaneously bear the workload at home. This has a detrimental effect on their personal as well as professional lives.
Issues At The Workplace
As per facts and figures, working mothers rake in a lower salary than women who don’t have kids, irrespective of their eligibility and commitment towards their jobs. These women often fall prey to discrimination and unjustified behavior. People have this notion that working moms are less devoted to their workplace responsibilities than women without children. Consequently, working mothers have to go through a few severe psychological issues and very low job satisfaction which forces them to quit their job at a very early age. It’s really disheartening for them as they are no less than their peers in terms of their qualification and work commitment.
Taking Care of Sick Children
This one is a major drawback of being a working mom. Most of the time, the responsibility of taking care of a sick child falls on them. This is usually because a father earns more, and everyone in the family considers his job to be of more importance. However, since employees get paid leaves only if they are unwell, working mothers have to avail their annual leaves or take unpaid leaves to look after their ailing kids. This is the basic reason why they need more parental leaves, adjustable work hours, as well as compassionate employers.
Health Issues
Balancing professional and personal life is not an easy task, and the excess workload is sometimes unbearable. It puts the body under severe strain which leads to a number of health problems such as arthritis, asthma, sleep deprivation, cardiac issues, and body pain. Of course, the extra earning can promote a healthier and comfortable lifestyle, but the absence of care and supervision can result in deteriorating health condition and mental problems as well.
No Time To Pursue Personal Interests
A hectic schedule throughout the day leaves no time for pursuing any hobby or personal interests, and working mothers suffer the most. Reading, listening to music, playing an instrument, watching a movie, or hanging out with friends at night are pretty much far-fetched plans that working mothers don’t have the time to do. Even if they do find themselves with a bit of free time, fatigue and exhaustion set in, and the only aim they have in life is to catch some Z’s. If this habit continues to persist for long, depression and irritability rule their day.
The concept of a working mother was something alien to people in the past. However, in recent times, the economic scenario has compelled families to go for a higher income as it’s becoming increasingly difficult for them to have a proper lifestyle under a single earning. Women are no less than men and are now much more qualified and eligible than they were a few decades back. But the pressure they undertake while maintaining their work and family commitments is often overlooked. It’s high time they get all the support and compassion they truly deserve.
