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A working woman in today’s world is overburdened with the responsibilities of managing her work/career, home and family. A woman is primarily and naturally a mother. In the olden days, women were mostly housewives and farmers. In this modern age, a woman works full time as well as manages the home front in order to strike a balance.
Consequently, societal expectations from the woman are such that she must work and support her family in order to cushion the effect of the global recession. In addition, today’s woman is expected to raise a family of responsible children who will be assets to the society, not liabilities.
Undoubtedly, today’s world of work is demanding, stressful, competitive but rewarding. Hence the work environment is “survival of the fittest”, an avenue where only the strongest advance in their careers.
Nevertheless, today’s working woman is constantly upgrading her knowledge base and developing her capacity, skills and competence in order to remain relevant in her career as well as keep abreast of industry trends while working assiduously to climb the corporate ladder!
Knowledge they say‚ is power. However‚ knowledge is empty if it is not applied. Hence applied knowledge is power. Knowledge is the secret to empowerment. The working woman must hone her skills; improve her knowledge through continuous studying and engaging in professional endeavours as well as entrepreneurial skills.
In order to remain relevant and survive in today’s world women must be adequately informed, knowledgeable, skilled, versatile, educated and enlightened. “No knowledge is a waste”, goes an old saying. Truly, the working woman must learn and re-learn, search and research: for he or she who stops learning starts dying. Information leads to transformation. If you are not informed, you become deformed. If you are not in the know, you cannot be in the flow!
Combining career and motherhood is an enormous task faced by an increasing number of women daily: Most mothers who have career demands and also hold high flying positions, find it difficult to balance their family life: While some mothers opt for part−time jobs or self employment in order to manage their homes, family lives properly. Others simply remain a SAHM (Stay−At−Home−Mum) in order to raise their children and manage their family adequately.
With many mothers having no choice but to work these days, some experts have raised concerns on the effect of working mothers on a child’s development: While some say that it could cause slower emotional development in children aged 4 to 12yrs, others are of the opinion that children of working mothers are more intelligent than their stay at home mum counterparts: A case of different strokes for different folks!
What then are the options available for working mothers? As a career mother: you must be focused and set your priorities right. She can get support from her immediate family or employ domestic servants to assist. This latter option comes with its many attendant risks. Not with the several cases of kidnapping of children for pecuniary gains, sexual abuse against children etc: Another option is to suspend your career while you raise your family, and then later go back to work when the kids are mature. Furthermore, she can establish a business that gives her the much desired flexibility of caring for her family and having a sense of fulfilment:
All mothers are working mothers but those who have a career away from home have a daunting challenge of juggling their career and family life: She has to multi-task as seen in her different roles, career woman, wife, mother, daughter, companion, friend, homemaker, teacher, shopper, cook, driver, confidant, housekeeper, errand runner, volunteer, counsellor, etc: Its exhausting just thinking of the multiple jobs and roles that women perform as mothers! You wonder how we manage to do it all!
It becomes pertinent to strike a balance between these two demanding duties of work and family. There will always be family issues to resolve as well as career issues to attend to. Each of these tend to pull us apart or in opposite directions! We must maintain good health by exercising and relaxing often to revitalize our body and mind in order to relieve stress. Health is wealth.
Nevertheless, some salient questions need to be asked to help us focus on this issues. How do you balance the sacrifices you make so they don’t greatly interfere with your personal goals? How do you fit the different roles as wife, mother and friend into an already hectic schedule? Time management is essential here. Learn to value relationships; keep in touch with family and friends.
Achieving a work-life balance is a herculean task. It is important to set your priorities right and make the required sacrifices that will guarantee the much desired success as “No pain: no gain”. In as much as there are several opportunities to get other jobs when you lose your family, there are no alternatives to family! Once you lose your family: you lose everything you have worked for!
In conclusion, it is possible to have the best of both worlds. Have a successful career and a happy family. Whatever choice you make, be ready to pay the price. Only those who pay the price will get the prize. With GOD all things are possible. Let’s work as women and have a happy family.
