Working mothers report heavy workloads and demanding schedules are taking away from critical quality time at home. One-in-ten say they bring work home three to five days a week. Thirty-eight percent admit to missing at least two significant events in their children’s lives in the last year due to work; one-in-ten have missed more than five events.
“Twenty-six percent of career moms say their jobs are negatively impacting their relationships with their children,” said Mary Delaney, Chief Sales Officer at CareerBuilder.com and mother of three. “Planning ahead, prioritizing and taking advantage of flexible work arrangements can help to alleviate that tension. More than half of working moms say their companies offer flexible work arrangements, so investigate options within and outside of your organization. The vast majority say work style adjustments have not adversely affected their career progress.”
Some working moms say a simple phone call during the workday helps them feel connected with their kids. Twenty-eight percent report they talk to their kids while at work at least once a day; 12 percent talk to their kids twice a day. Thirty percent say they typically don’t get a chance to call their families while at the office.
Delaney offers the following tips to help working moms gain a healthy work/life balance:
1) Organize and compartmentalize - set aside one night a week or a month to get organized at work. If you take work home with you, make sure your kids don’t see it. Check emails after bedtime. When you’re home, it’s all about them.
2) Be consistent - stick to the same routine every day, so your children know what to expect.
3) Set aside vacation days - there are some non-compromises in life and you should save your vacation days for those special occasions. At major events like graduations, school plays, soccer playoffs, you are there and you are in the front row.
4) Divide and conquer - assign tasks, so when you come home from work you don’t have five hours of cleaning and grocery shopping in front of you…and appreciate the results.
5) Get involved - introduce yourself to your child’s teacher and ask for email updates on his/her progress. Volunteer your time where you can spend it with your kids, whether it’s joining Scouts or coaching a team or participating at a school function.
6) Learn to say no - designate a certain amount of time to your community and friends and establish limits. SuperMoms need a break too.
Survey Methodology
The new CareerBuilder.com survey, "Working Moms 2006," was conducted from February 21 to March 6, 2006. Methodology used to collect survey responses totaling more than 600 working moms, employed full-time with children under the age of 18 living at home involved selecting a random sample of comScore Networks panel members. These Web Panel members were approached via an e-mail invitation, which asked them to participate in a short online survey. The results of this survey are statistically accurate to within +/- 4.0 percentage points (19 times out of 20).
About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is the nation’s largest online job site with more than 20 million unique visitors and over 1 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), and Knight Ridder, Inc. (NYSE:KRI), the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 800 partners that reach national, local, industry and niche audiences. These include more than 170 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 250,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings, 18 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. Millions of job seekers visit the site every month to search for opportunities by industry, location, company and job type, sign up for automatic email job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. For more information about CareerBuilder.com products and services, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.
CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:
Jennifer Grasz
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(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com