Women are an integral part of society. This Women’s day, we
at Silver Oak Health have chosen to cater to the Working mothers in our
country. Qualitative research was done to understand the challenges faced by
and Strategies adopted by Millennial Working Mothers in India. These women
ranged from the age of 29 to 33 with young children and they worked with some
of the best organizations in the country. The themes that emerged through the
research are as follows.

Emotional
guilt-either generated from within or generated from external sources (family,
friends, society).

Most of the mothers who were interviewed either faced this
emotional guilt they felt for – leaving their kids back at home and going for
work, for feeling like they were constantly missing out on important moments in
their children’s lives or for not being as good as or not giving their kids
enough time as a stay at home mothers- or they were made to feel guilty by
family members, relatives friends and even colleagues. For example, one mother
spoke about how her child was a premature baby, hence, for the first few years
he would look weak even if he is very active and how relatives would constantly
guilt her for not taking enough care of her child and choosing to go to work.

Even though emotional guilt was a major theme that
prevailed, these mothers emphasized on the importance of spending. mindful quality time with their kidssince
time was something, they were short on in comparison to stay at home mothers.
They were also able to point out the various advantages of being a Working
Mother.

• Most of these mothers pointed out that, being a
  working mother had a positive
  effect on their kid’s psychological development. One mother spoke
  about how her kid’s teacher appreciated the kid’s communication skills , another mother spoke about her kid becoming independent and responsible
  from a young age and another mother spoke about her kid being
  understanding and not having any
  gender biases since he saw both his parents work from a young age.

• Coincidently, most of these Millennial working mothers have
  had their own mothers being working professionals while they were growing up
  and that helped them understand the importance of a woman being financially independent and
  having professional and personal
  dreams of their own.

• These mothers spoke about how, being a working professional,
  not only helps them be more financially independent but also helps them ease the pressure on their spouse for
  bringing in all the income. They also spoke about how having both parents working
  helps the kid understand that they are working so that they can provide for his better future.

As much as these mothers have pointed out the advantages of
them having a career of their own, they emphasized three major aspects that
make life easier for them.

• One the viewpoint was that support from their spouse, parents, and in-laws made it easier
  for them to leave the child with a family member so that they could concentrate
  wholeheartedly at work.

• Another viewpoint was that most of the organizations they
  worked with, such as Taj Hotels,
  Athena International, Indigo Airlines and ATS Infrastructure Ltd were
  extremely supportive and flexible towards the needs of these working mothers.
  Either they were allowed to bring their kids and leave them at the inhouse daycare center or they
  were allowed to leave work early on a certain day, enjoy the privilege of
  getting their preferred shifts,
  were given the preference to wear lose
  maternity clothes and order healthier
  food options during their pregnancy and were even given a chance
  to shift departments if they felt their current job role was too hectic. All of these mothers
  emphasized the importance of having a very understanding boss.

• Finally, these mothers also spoke about their views on
  the technology being a boon and
  that, putting a camera at home while the child was left alone with a baby
  sitter or video calling with their kids helped them feel more connected to
  their children.

Another smaller theme that emerged was the challenge of getting a job after the
maternity leave because the recruiter felt hiring a new mother would
involve- her not spending long hours at work or prioritizing her child over her
job- hence, choosing the right organization ( as mentioned above ) that
understand these needs is important.

Lastly, these mothers spoke about the fact that, with all
the hustle, it was hard for them to
take out time for themselves but they made sure they did in order to
rejuvenate and get back into their hectic lives.

To conclude with, all of these mothers pointed out that,
their lives aren’t easy especially when the child is younger butpositive thinkinghelps them get
through and enjoy the hustle.