Working Mothers Are At A Disadvantage

Business leaders have been surprisingly delighted about the benefits of remote working after years of misconceptions about the arrangement. 

Now, they have been able to see that cost effectiveness that working from home enables, while employees enjoy a healthier work-life balance.

However, this isn’t the case for all workers, particularly parents. In fact, studies have found that mothers are at gender disadvantage with remote working environments.

Working moms have reported having to juggle childcare and work responsibilities more than working dads, which has led to more mental health problems like depression and anxiety.

Many mothers saw school and the workplace as an opportunity to take a breather from their domestic roles, but with many schools and companies still operating virtually, that break is gone. With many of these mothers struggling to balance both of these roles, they are eager to return to the office.

So employers who want to continue embracing remote working arrangements need to do so with working parents in mind. Understanding how to accommodate the needs of these employees, especially mothers, will be essential to a healthy, fair workplace.

For instance, employers should allow mothers to have the choice about whether they return to the office or not. This is more than just accommodating personal work preferences — it’s a matter of alleviating the risk for increased mental health problems in the workplace and ensuring that employees are supported on a deeper level.