Balancing Job And Family, A Job And A Family

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The question most women have to think at some stage of their life is “how to handle both a job and a family”. There are those who still think it’s impossible to ‘have it all’, while most women just want to find a way to make it work.

We’ll look at what the situation is all about, provide you real tips and solutions on making it work and bust some myths surrounding balancing job and family as a working mom.

The numbers behind the dilemma

There’s plenty of data to suggest how the act of balancing a job and a family as working mother is not an easy thing to do. As women are being presented with increasing career opportunities around the world, more women will be confronted with having to find career and family equilibrium.

In fact, two-parent
But when it comes to scheduling and sick days, including the need to take time off work, the burden tends to fall on the shoulders of the mother.

For example, Pew Social Trends have studied the issues in the US. In the most recent study from 2015, the figures highlighted the following facts:

• Six out of ten working mothers believe balancing a job and a family is difficult.
• 41% of mothers said parenting make career advancement harder; with only 6% of moms feeling career progression is actually easier.
• 40% of full-time employed mothers feel they are constantly rushed, with 50% stating they sometimes feel rushed and 42% stating they don’t get to spend enough time with their children.

Attitudes towards the dilemma have also grown rather pessimistic among some women. In her 2014 book, Getting Real About Having It All, Megan Dalla-Camina surveyed 1,000 female professionals and made the following findings:

• 70% of women think it’s impossible to be a success at work and home
• 64% of women felt they don’t have everything they want, meaning something has to give when finding the
There’s a sense among working women that you either have to say goodbye to your dream career or spend less time with your children. But is finding the balance impossible?

What you can do to get on the right track

If you want to start your journey to a more rewarding life as a working mom, both in terms of your career and family, there are steps you can take. The three keys to get yourself on the right track include defining your priorities, setting boundaries and taking care of yourself.

#1: Define your priorities

The first thing you need to focus is finding out where your priorities are. It might turn out to be true that you “cannot have it all”, but would you even want that? Could it be that you are just dreaming about that CEO job since it’s something a business-minded person should dream about?

It’s essential to understand what your priorities are and what are the things you truly want to achieve. You should define your priorities in three categories:

• Personal priorities – What are the things that matter to you the most?
• Family priorities – What do you want as a family? It’s a good idea to discuss these family goals together with your partner.
• Career priorities – What do you want to achieve in your

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