Parenthood during the pandemic: a CityMom's perspective
CityMom Liz made the difficult decision to leave her job when she didn’t feel the professional support she needed to balance work and parenthood during the pandemic. The far-reaching consequences of the pandemic are often most deeply felt by working mothers as we shoulder the burden of protecting our jobs and our children. And Liz's story is just one of the hundreds we've heard over the past few months. But it's an important one:
“We all have to do what is best for our family” – I think this is a phrase that every working mom has heard since COVID hit. Has anyone else also experienced the pure lip service this phrase has become? Leaders stating that they understand or that they too know the ‘pains’ of being a working parent, yet seem to have no grace or space for a mom who has to balance parenting and working in a way that no other generation before us had to do. That’s precisely how I ended up where I am today, finishing up my two weeks’ notice at a company that I have worked at for two years. Now both myself and my supervisor {a Vice President} are moving on to new employment. That’s correct, due to an inability to create a safe working environment for two parents during the pandemic, a company is losing an entire department in a span of two weeks.
LIZ ALSO SHARED THIS IMPORTANT READ: I am a working mom and I'm more than enough
I can remember thinking to myself, when a senior team member said to me, “We all have to do what’s best for our family,” I wanted to simply laugh. You see, my current work schedule is far better for my family than the one I will be taking on at my new job {at least temporarily during training}. My family will suffer. They will survive. We will be okay, but to say that I’m doing what’s best for them is just not true. However, my family will be better off with a mom who is not miserable because those around her at work aren’t questioning her ‘loyalty’ or ‘dedication’ because work isn’t her number one priority right now. They will be better with a mom who isn’t having panic attacks in the morning at the thought of driving into a toxic work environment each day. They will, hopefully, be better in the long term, even if they all must suffer through this transitional time. We sit in a world where so many employers are willing to acknowledge that a remote workforce may not be the horrific thing they believed it to be in the past. They are in some cases seeing savings in their bottom line due to not having to provide a workspace and/or amenity to their workforce. They are seeing increased productivity from a workforce that feels safe and feels as if they can genuinely attempt to find a balance that works for their family. So why do other employers still fight a ‘nontraditional’ schedule? Why can’t we sit down, and allow workers to make schedules and plans that work for them as well as their employer? I understand this isn’t an option for every employed person – there will still be parents caught in the crossfire of this pandemic. However, if there are families that can be helped, why wouldn’t we want that?
So, here is my note to every employer out there...
If you have employees who are parents: Now is your time to take care of them the way you expect them to take care of your business. If you want loyal, hardworking, and dedicated professionals within your company, then now is the time to show them how much you value them and what they bring to the table. A working mom asking for a schedule shift is not simply someone who is trying to leave you in a bind. She is a human being who is trying to work in order to care for her family, but also make sure that her family doesn’t get left behind. A father who is asking to work from home because his kids are doing virtual learning is not a burden to you; he is someone who is trying to keep all the balls in the air during a time where there is no playbook. You may run a company, but if you do not find the time to become flexible for your employees, you will find yourself running a company of one.
