I am very lucky to have been able to work from home since having children. I was planning to go into Primary School teaching and I was half way through my PGCE when I found out that I was pregnant with Bob. I had planned to return to teaching when Bob was older.
Then, when she was 7 months old, I started a mummy blog. This was just a hobby and it helped me to make sense of motherhood and gave me something to do during the sleepless nights. At the time I never dreamed that my blog would become my business!
Now, 5 years on, my blog is a huge part of my life. I can’t believe how much it has grown and I am lucky enough to earn a living from my little corner of cyber space! I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to work from home and spend more time with my children!
Many of my friends have returned to work since having their children and some of them have struggled with the transition to ‘working mum’. My friend recently told me that, once her maternity leave finished, her childcare bill would be bigger than her mortgage. I also have friends that love their job but the inflexibility of it makes being a working mum very tricky!
Today is International Women’s Day and this years theme is #BeBoldForChange. Axonn Media have created an infographic following their survey on parents and their working life. It seems that being a mum still presents greater professional challenges than being a Dad, even in 2017.
Working parents all have challenges to face, including working hours, travelling and lack of flexibility. These things affect all working parents but mum’s seem to have the greater struggle. Research from the Gender in Marketing 2017 report reveals that 62% of Mums said that parenthood hampered their career, compared to just to 24% of Dads. 1 in 10 mums would even go as far to say that parenthood had a negative effect on their career.
On top of that, the work doesn’t end when the working day finishes. We all have to keep on top of household chores and I struggle, even though I am at home much longer than a working parent. I can’t imagine having to fit in all the washing, ironing, cooking and cleaning after a long day at work. Working from home does have it’s challenges but at least I get chance to fit in chores around childcare and work. I am in awe of working parents and all that they manage to achieve!
Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post.
What a lovely post. I work from home and wonder how those who work outside their home cope.
it’s amazing how many parents work alongside having kids. xo