As an ambitious, career driven woman, how do you maintain a healthy work life balance?
Women in business are no longer torn between choosing a career or motherhood. In today’s working world, managing both is possible. Mothers can be career-driven and striving for business success, whilst also committing to a strong family unit. However, it’s no secret that the balancing act can be difficult to establish at first.
The importance of having a healthy work-life balance has become an increasingly discussed matter. Research from The Office for National Statistics has found that from 1996 to 2017, the number of women with dependent children in either full-time or part-time work had increased by more than one million.
This is likely to be due to the changes in the economic climate, or even because of increased awareness and support towards mothers that are looking to return to their careers after having a child.
Debbie Lentz is President of Global Supply Chain at RS Components and the Electrocomponents Group. Below she shares what she owes her healthy work-life balance to, and what tips and opportunities other working mothers can take from her experience.
Vocalise Your Wants And Needs
Employees often remain silent with their opinions, concerns or ideas, fearing to speak openly with their line manager. This can be down to a work environment that is not conducive for it.
However, having an open company culture that encourages employees to speak up can be hugely beneficial. This can be beneficial to both the individual employee and the entire organisation, presenting opportunities for improvement.
Line managers are in a position to clear the way for progression and aid individuals to have the best work-life balance possible. Research from PwC reveals that 58% of women say employers need to provide greater transparency to improve career opportunities.
Speaking with your line manager about what you need from them will help speed up the scope for a more positive and rewarding work-life balance.
Speaking from her own experience, Debbie adds:
“Being noisy within a company, when done with good intentions, is something all working mothers should be looking to do. For many of us, voicing our aspirations within a company makes us feel awkward or like we’re being a nuisance – but this simply isn’t the case. If you don’t ask, you don’t get, after all!”
“As a working parent, having open and honest conversations with your line manager could have a huge improvement in your work-life balance. As an employee, your senior team will value you, your work and the impact you have on the organisation. In turn, that means it’s their responsibility to make sure you’re happy within your role. As a working mother, it can be difficult to admit if you’re struggling to maintain the work and home life balance, but it’s important to remember that it’s valuable for both of you to have this transparency”.
Order The Important Aspects Of Your Life
Maybe your personal goal in your career is aimed at getting to the top of the ladder or perhaps the desire to be financially stable to provide for those dependent on you. It’s important that you have an understanding of what your true priorities are. This will help to shape a clear path to achieve a work-life balance that will work for you.
Trust is an important trait to have between any employer-employee relationship. It’s important that employees can discuss their life priorities and aspirations freely.
Talking on personal priorities, Debbie continues:
“I’d made it known to my senior management team that I would love to be based internationally. This was a development for not only myself, but for my children too. I wanted them to experience diversity which, for an American like myself, was quite unusual at the time.”
“Making this plan for my family’s life was fruitful. One of the most impactful moves I made – both career-wise and for my family – was to move to Switzerland where we lived for three and a half years. My children were able to experience a Swiss international school of which my company at the time covered the costs.”
Interestingly, women are not the only ones wanting to start achieving a better work-life balance. Maria Miller MP, Chairwoman of the Commons Women and Equalities Select Committee, found that “more than half of millennial fathers want to shift to a less stressful job because they find it difficult to balance work and family life”.
Branching Out Your Support Network
Your support network shouldn’t stop at your line manager but should come from a number of different avenues. For example, close family, friends, head of departments, colleagues and external mentors also.
Whether you need a hand with last-minute childcare or someone to help you hold yourself accountable without judgement, having additional support will enable you to keep your work-life balance in check.
Debbie continues:
“There’s no doubt that you can have a family and a career – but you need a strong support system. It can be exhausting, but it can be done. For me, choosing to go back to work after having a child wasn’t an easy decision. There were things I did to make sure I had balance and my support network played a big part in this.”
“For example, my partner moved offices to be closer to home and, over time, stopped working in order to be a full-time parent. I would always work to ensure I could be home for family dinner time. When it came to travelling for work, I made the most of opportunities where my family could come too. A conference I once had at Disney World was an amazing experience for them, and I could spend time with them in the evenings”.
Being Overlooked
A healthy work-life balance can be a difficult juggling act. With each individuals’ varying needs there is no golden rule that fits all.
With 48% new mothers saying they were overlooked for career advancement because they had children, there is a true emphasis on the support required from organisations to help working mothers achieve a better balance. Plus for individuals themselves, it’s important to prioritise and be vocal on how your own work-life balance can improve.
Bio
Debbie Lentz joined Electrocomponents plc, a global multi-channel provider of industrial and electronic products and solutions, as the President of Global Supply Chain in 2017. Debbie is responsible for leading the further development of the Group’s supply chain capability to provide an innovative and sustainable market-leading service for customers and suppliers. RS Components is a trading brand of Electrocomponents plc.
