Mothers carry out a lot of household responsibilities, from ensuring everyone’s needs to the house's stability. Now, you see why being a mum is also a full-time job. Women are pivotal in any environment.

 

 

Sometimes, the work span of some mothers is shortened due to the never-ending demands of the workplace and their babies. It is pertinent to address how working mums can work while maintaining a great household.  

 

 

While most companies lose out on their mum's force, there are ways you can empower and boost productivity in your mum's force. Here’s how you, as an employer, can do that;

 

 

• Flexible working environment 
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Many mothers struggle to juggle work and childcare responsibilities, especially first-time mums.  You can support working mums by offering them flexible jobs like working from home, job sharing, compressed hours, part-time and hybrid work models.

 

 

A flexible working environment allows mums to check on their children in daycare, especially if your company doesn't have a nearby childcare service.

 

 

A recent survey showed that mothers would be 28% more productive with flexible work modes. It would help if you tailored their work modes to what will best fit your company and its needs.

 

 

• Career development support 
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Adjusting to the workplace after a maternity leave can be challenging. As they transition back to the workplace, most mums often feel they lack adequate skills and resources to delve back into the workplace. 

 

 

You can provide career advancement programs or mentorship for working mums in your company to support their growth. These programmes provide a more practical approach for mums resuming back to work. It helps to cushion the footing of experienced professionals after a career break.

 

 

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• Provide on-site child care services 
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This option may look different for various organisations. If you run a large company, you can support your working mums by partnering with nearby daycares or creches to run a discount for your mums. You can also have a daycare in your building to further put mums at ease and allow them to be more productive as they're not worrying about their child occasionally.

 

 

If you cannot provide an on-site child care service, a little as providing a lactation room for mums to express breast milk comfortably will go a long way. You can provide a little room, a refrigerator, and a chair and your lactation room is set. 

 

 

• Create a family-friendly workspace
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Many employers scare off working mums due to their stringent policies and lack of empathy. It would help if you showed empathy to your mums. They need to feel seen and valued.

 

 

Rather than attending a physical meeting, you can offer the option of calling into a meeting to allow them to care for their child. A hostile working environment often reduces the productivity of mums, and they often quit due to the unrealistic demands of their employers and management. 

 

 

• Remove gender gaps in promotions and paychecks
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Amidst the advocacy, gender gaps still exist in the workplace, and most of the time, working mums are affected. Implement feasible policies to protect and support their careers.

 

It's a common sentiment that working mothers are lax and may no longer handle some tasks, especially in high-level or executive positions. The realities of motherhood can creep into performance reviews, which may present them as inferior. One way to change this narrative is by implementing feasible and practical policies to protect and support the rights of working mums in the workplace.

 

 

 

There isn't a playbook that attaches a woman’s ability to work to her mothering state. Mothers can be as productive as everyone in the workplace.  Motherhood is a seismic journey with numerous crests and troughs. Working mums are no different from your other employees. Hence, they should be treated fairly. You should use the earlier strategies to improve your mum's productivity as an employer. This will also lead to more talent retention in your workforce.