Motherhood at the workplace: the employer's guide
A working mom is a complex force of nature that can achieve the unachievable. However, she also needs support and understanding from her workplace she gives a lot of her time and energy. If you have moms in your employment you need to read this to support them in the best way possible. This article will give you some tips on how to do so.
How can employers support mothers in the workplace?
1| Be a parent
If you hold a management position and some of your employees are moms, you can support them by normalizing being a working parent and talking about your role as a parent and a caregiver. Don’t be shy to say: “I am taking this meeting from home today because my daughter is sick” or “I will leave early today to watch my son’s football game” set an example of a good parent and manager and share your parenting with your mom employees.
2| Care about their wellbeing
Working mothers are prone to burnout, stress, and anxiety more than others. Allow them space and time to self-care, reduce their stress load, be compassionate, and just care about their mental and physical health.
3| Offer help
If your company is big enough, consider opening an employee-only nursery, where your staff can have their babies looked after close to them. This will give breastfeeding moms to take multiple short breaks and nurse their babies. You can also add hybrid or remote work models, especially for mothers, and offer your female employees motherhood classes from Omooma as part of their employment package.
4| Implement equity
Women and especially mothers have a hard time getting promoted or receiving salary increases, due to the lack of equity in the workplace. Women do the exact amount of work as men in the office, then they go home to practice the taxing roles of motherhood, but this is never taken into consideration when measuring work achievement and performance, hence the delays in promotions for moms. Implementing equity will give women a fighting chance in standing out at their jobs exactly as men.
5| Be kind
Mothers have a lot on their plate, and most of the time they are exhausted physically, emotionally, and mentally. They fight multiple battles every day, so be kind practice empathy, and be understanding and supportive towards your mom employees.
