The Everyday Rockstar: How Workday Supports Working Mothers
As we celebrate Mother’s Day, it’s important to acknowledge the hard work and dedication that mothers put into their families and careers. Motherhood is a beautiful journey, but it’s no secret that it’s also one of the most challenging ones. It’s a balancing act of nurturing and providing for children while pursuing a career. Fortunately, many companies today are recognizing the challenges faced by working mothers and are taking steps to support their physical and mental wellbeing. At Workday, we celebrate the journey of parenthood and strive to support working mothers through resources and benefits that help them thrive. In honor of Mother’s Day, we’ll hear first-hand advice from some of our Workmates on their experiences to and through motherhood.
Create a Community of People with Priorities in the Right Place
We value family and understand the challenges that working mothers face when balancing their professional and personal lives. Liz, who has been a Workmate for over eight years, shares that she has never met a manager or colleague here who has not been supportive of her balancing act as a working mother. Having a supportive community of people with priorities in the right place creates an environment that allows working mothers to thrive. Having a supportive network is critical. Workmate Kaitlyn says,
“Ultimately, it’s just nice to know that I’m not alone! Seeing other Workmates ask a lot of the same questions that I have — — whether it’s related to accessing Workday resources or finding a local pediatrician — — is really encouraging.”
We value inclusion, belonging, and equity. And part of that means embracing the fact that Workmates are multifaceted, and connect to a number of different communities. This is why we have Employee Belonging Councils, or EBCs for short. Our Families EBC exists to flip the narrative of what makes successful employees, by exemplifying our caregiving workforce as the talent to make Workday and ‘the future of work’ successful. But support needs to have support across the entire organization, including leadership.
Empathetic and Flexible Leadership
Recognizing and supporting working mothers is crucial, but it is equally important for leaders to create a work environment that values the wellbeing of working caregivers and their families. This means acknowledging that working parents face unique challenges and providing resources and support to help them manage their responsibilities at work and at home.
Liz says, “Be flexible when times get hard…providing resources for childcare and/or self-care to support parents” can make a significant difference. Megan, another Workmate, echoes this sentiment,
“I think it is imperative that a company gives a parent flexible time, whether that is flexible time off to go on a vacation to enjoy some family time or just allowing the employee to get their work done on a schedule that allows them to be a parent.”
Employers need to understand that working caregivers often have to juggle multiple responsibilities, and offering flexibility shows that they understand and support their efforts to balance work and family life. That’s why we offer a number of different benefits and resources to support Workmates. Not to mention giving all Workmates the flexibility in their schedules to accommodate
Benefits to Minimize Stress
Workday benefits aim to minimize the stress of caregiving.
“Having good health care, dependent care, and mental health support takes such a load off of our minds as parents. Parenting is stressful enough without having to worry about finding a doctor, paying a massive bill, or having a variety of professional resources available.” -Leslie, Sr. Principal Functional Architect, Pleasanton
Kaitlyn shares that Workday provides resources that allow mothers to bring their best selves to work. Workday provides resources like the backup caregiver subsidy and Maven. Maven is an online platform that provides expert advice and support to mothers on a variety of topics, such as breastfeeding, sleep training, mental health support, even nutrition and career coaching. Workmate, Ashley, says that Maven was her “saving grace” when her son was going through a sleep regression.
“When my son went through a major sleep regression, my partner and I were going on 3 weeks of no more than 2 hours of sleep at night. Maven was a saving grace for us. Within an hour, I was connected to a pediatric sleep consultant. By the second night, my son was back to sleeping a full 12 hour night. Maven really saved us.”
Maven connects mothers with a network of healthcare providers and parenting experts who can provide personalized guidance and support. By offering these resources, Workday aims to support working parents and alleviate some of the stress associated with balancing work and family responsibilities.
Recognize the Mental Load of Motherhood
One of the most overlooked or under-appreciated aspects of being a working parent is the mental load. The mental load refers to the mental burden that parents carry as they try to balance their work responsibilities with their family and personal obligations.
Kaitlyn said, “Even if I’m physically present in the office, my mind may be half on the task at hand and half on the million things waiting for me at home.” Kaitlyn’s statement perfectly encapsulates what the mental load is all about. It’s about trying to juggle multiple tasks and responsibilities at once while also dealing with the emotional weight of being a parent.
We’re proud to offer resources like counseling, coaching, employee assistance programs, and a caretaking concierge service named Wellthy to help working parents manage their mental load.
By continuing to prioritize family and provide resources that cater to the unique challenges faced by working mothers, we strive to maintain an environment where mothers can thrive both at home and in the workplace. With flexible time arrangements, benefits that support mental and physical wellbeing, and a supportive community, our goal is to empower working mothers to be their best selves and let their brilliance shine.
On this Mother’s Day, we celebrate all of the Rockstar mothers who balance multiple responsibilities with grace and determination, and we applaud the companies who are recognizing and supporting the invaluable contributions of working mothers.
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