What Working Moms Need and Want in 2021
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It’s no secret that 2020 was a beast of a year for working moms. All at once, the balance we fought so hard for as working moms was upended and we found ourselves back at home trying to do everything all at once. It was simply too much.
According to McKinsey’s 2020 Women in the Workplace report, “One in four working women in North America said that they were considering downshifting their careers or dropping out of the workforce entirely. For working mothers, and particularly those with young children, the number was one in three.”
That’s a problem – not just for working moms but also for companies. McKinsey explains, “We know that women’s advancement in the workforce matters; companies with more women executives are more likely to outperform those with fewer senior women.”
So, now that we are halfway into 2021, what do working moms need and want as they return to the workforce? This is what I’m finding.
Remote Work Potential
I’d be lying if I said I wanted to work remotely forever. I love my kids but going to work is kinda nice.
However, as a working mom, I need and want the ability to work remotely as needed. Kids get sick, get quarantined from school, and need someone to stay with them on teacher workdays. Not having to take off work to be with them and still get some work done is ideal.
We’ve seen it’s possible, so now we want it.
Meaningful Work
One thing the stress of working in 2020 taught me is the importance of meaningful work.
Being forced to go into the office for something pointless was a waste of time and super frustrating.
Larina Lee explains in Forbes, “In a hybrid world, put more intentionality on what’s done in the office and what’s done remotely. What are the meetings that have to be in person? Signal to people when it matters. The hardest thing for a working mom—everything’s an emergency.”
Employers need to provide working moms with meaningful work and be intentional with their requests.
Positive Work Environments
Another thing working moms need and want is a positive work environment. We don’t want to work in a stuffy workplace with hostile employees.
Our time is valuable. We don’t want to dread going into work, and the best way to do this is to make us WANT to go into the work.
Inc. reports, “academic studies suggest that employees who feel more positive emotions at work are more engaged, and thus, are less likely to leave the organization.”
Supportive Employers
I love this quote I found on Working Mothers: “You’ve never met a loyal employee until you’ve met a working mom with a great boss.”
Supportive employers make all the difference for working moms. We need a boss who will listen and be empathetic.
Unsupportive employers are feeling the loss of many outstanding female employees. According to Indeed, “70% of the women who cut hours or quit report a lack of support from their employers when juggling work and home life during the pandemic.”
In contrast, the majority of women who continued working during the pandemic reported their managers were sympathetic to challenges, patient, and offered emotional support (sometimes as simple as just asking employees what they could do to help).
