Women are an integral part of society. This Women’s day, we at Silver Oak Health have chosen to cater to the Working mothers in our country. A qualitative research was done to understand the challenges faced by and Strategies adopted by Millennial Working Mothers in India. These women ranged from the age of 29 to 33 with young children and they worked with some of the best organizations in the country. The themes that emerged through the research are as follows.
Emotional guilt-either generated from within or generated from external sources (family, friends, society).
Most of the mothers who were interviewed either faced this emotional guilt they felt for - leaving their kids back at home and going for work, for feeling like they were constantly missing out on important moments in their children’s lives or for not being as good as or not giving their kids enough time as stay at home mothers- or they were made to feel guilty by family members, relatives friends and even colleagues. For example, one mother spoke about how her child was a premature baby, hence, for the first few years he would look weak even if he is very active and how relatives would constantly guilt her for not taking enough care of her child and choosing to go to work.
Even though emotional guilt was a major theme that prevailed, these mothers emphasized on the importance of spending mindful quality time with their kids since time was something, they were short on in comparison to stay at home mothers. They were also able to point out the various advantages of being a Working Mother.
Most of these mothers pointed out that, being a working mother had a positive effect on their kid’s psychological development. One mother spoke about how her kid’s teacher appreciated the kid’s communication skills, another mother spoke about her kid becoming independent and responsible from a young age and another mother spoke about her kid being understanding and not having any gender biases since he saw both his parents work from a young age.
Coincidently, most of these Millennial working mothers have had their own mothers being working professionals while they were growing up and that helped them understand the importance of a woman being financially independent and having professional and personal dreams of their own.
These mothers spoke about how, being a working professional, not only helps them be more financially independent but also helps them ease the pressure on their spouse for bringing in all the income. They also spoke about how, having both parents working helps the kid understand that they are working so that they can provide for his better future.
As much as these mothers have pointed out the advantages of them having a career of their own, they emphasized on three major aspects that make life easier for them.
One viewpoint was that support from their spouse, parents, and in-laws made it easier for them to leave the child with a family member so that they could concentrate wholeheartedly at work.
Another viewpoint was that most of the organizations they worked with, such as Taj Hotels, Athena International, Indigo Airlines and ATS Infrastructure Ltd were extremely supportive and flexible towards the needs of these working mothers. Either they were allowed to bring their kids and leave them at the inhouse daycare center or they were allowed to leave work early on a certain day, enjoy the privilege of getting their preferred shifts, were given the preference to wear lose maternity clothes and order healthier food options during their pregnancy and were even given a chance to shift departments if they felt their current job role was too hectic. All of these mothers emphasized the importance of having a very understanding boss.
Finally, these mothers also spoke about their views on the technology being a boon and that, putting a camera at home while the child was left alone with a baby sitter or video calling with their kids helped them feel more connected to their children.
Another Smaller theme that emerged was the challenge of getting a job after the maternity leave because the recruiter felt hiring a new mother would involve- her not spending long hours at work or prioritizing her child over her job- hence, choosing the right organization ( as mentioned above ) that understand these needs is important.
Lastly, these mothers spoke about the fact that, with all the hustle, it was hard for them to take out time for themselves but they made sure they did in order to rejuvenate and get back into their hectic lives.
To conclude with, all of these mothers pointed out that, their lives aren’t easy especially when the child is younger but positive thinking helps them get through and enjoy the hustle.
