Hey working mothers, get your groove back

Balancing work and a newborn can be an arduous task for working women, especially if there’s low flexibility at the workplace. But here’s help for those, who are taking this arduous road as Nirmala Menon, of Interweave Consulting, offers solutions to transition smoothly back into one’s career, post motherhood.

What inspired you to address issue of working mothers, transitioning back into their careers, post motherhood?
Today, women and mothers are the fastest growing segment in workplaces. With young mothers trying to deal with work and child care, corporate setups are also facing a problem. Since corporations are looking at it as a business concern, it is important to sensitise them to the issue, to enable a talented women workforce continue with their careers. I felt the need to address this problem for a healthier corporate society that is friendly to childcare.
 
What are the different challenges faced by young working mothers today?
The challenges begin, as soon as a women team member announces her pregnancy.  Team members start worrying about what lies ahead in terms of work. Also, due to a host of misconceptions, women who are expecting a child are not assigned challenging tasks. In such cases they often feel neglected. Though such moves are well intended, it is important to have a proper discussion with the woman team member, before her superior decides her productivity.
 
What are the different alternatives that working mothers can opt for?
Some organisations have policies that are suitable for young mothers. Though they follow the law on maternity leave, they also have extensions depending on the need of the person. Sometimes facilities like work from home, or a part time employment can be worked out too. The transition from motherhood to coming back to work has to be seamless. No woman employee would want to feel cut off from her job once she is back after a long leave. Enabling and trying to keep connect with the woman and her family is important for organisations. For women where work from home is not feasible, a créche on site is surely a boon as it is easier for them to attend to the child, even while working.

What measures have you taken in order to create sensitivity about this among organisations?
We constantly conduct workshops for managers and women in order to understand the demands of both groups. We also try and encourage organisations to make the father an equal partner in this whole process. We believe that unless fathers participate, mothers cannot come back to work. Not just equal participation, but we also try to get organisations to consider paternity leave.

Due to increasing number of nuclear families, not everyone today has a support system for child care. And since the parents are equal partners in the whole process, the leave should both be granted leave according to the needs. We raise people’s sensitivity and intelligence around motherhood in order to achieve a realistic solution.

What is your tip to young working mothers and managers?
Managers and women employees should not hesitate to put forth their points and discuss the issues pertaining to motherhood or impending maternity. It is important to have a candid conversation in order to be able to achieve a middle path. The organisation and the employees have to look at creative solutions and careful planning is definitely the key to a healthy profession. Getting the spouse to participate is important as it helps improve confidence in the woman as well. Though this will take a while to hit the bottom rung of society, we believe any self respecting organisation should be able to provide a suitable environment for working mothers.