One Hand Clapping
I read a lot of news articles about work/life balance. And if they center around the stories of individual people, they tend to be just like this one. Peppy descriptions of how this or that mother has managed to arrange her life so that she can handle a career and be with her kids.
While these slices of life are perhaps helpful to some, to me they are like one hand clapping. Why do we insist on trying to balance our work and family responsibilities without regard to half of the manpower? I speak of the father, of course. One sentence in this particular article mentions a husband, but by-and-large, we're forgotten in the mix.
In this particular article, one mom highlights her success with a job share. I love job shares - I really, truly do. Amy has one, of sorts, at her workplace; she shares a 1.5 FTE job with a colleague, and they make a great team. But I would like couples to consider themselves in a job share at home too. Then, the big work/life balance puzzle could include both partners, not just one. It is not just a mother's responsibility to balance work and family!
posted by Marc @ 7:57 PM
2 Comments:
Marc,
Well said. I know that when I went from working 80 - 100 hours per week to working less than half that out of a home office, I not only had to re-integrate myself into my family, I also had to serve the best interests of the family as a whole and each of its members.
My wife still jokes about the culture shock that occurred when I came home to work, but was grateful that I was sharing both parenting and household responsibilities.
David
While these snippets of life may be useful to others, they are like one hand clapping to me. Why do we persist in attempting to balance our work and home duties while ignoring half of the available manpower? Of course, I'm referring to my father. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Keep up the good job! Continue to spread the word. Please take a peek at my website.
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