Working Mother Guilt
MOTHERS changing the conversation @ www.MothersOughtToHaveEqualRights.org
Work, guilt, stress. Why does this afflict women more than men? One study says it's because women are more likely to be the family caregiver. They absorb the stress of those around them, and yet feel compelled to respond to every email, phone call, or message from work. The authors of this Canadian study conclude that women worry they will look less committed to work if they don't maintain contact when out of the office.
Why are we so willing to put our peace of mind in the hands of others? The mothers and women I know give it all up at work, then come home and are endlessly available to their families. How can we possibly believe we aren't doing enough? We talk about the "price of motherhood" usually in economic terms, the amount of lifetime earnings we forego by assuming the unpaid, but economically essential, work of manning (ha!) the homefront. It seems another "price of motherhood" is paid in guilt and stress and harm to our physical and mental health. Enough, already!!
'Til next time,
Your (Wo)Man in Washington
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