How to Improve Your Work-Life Balance

Brigid Schulte was quoted extensively in the Wall Street Journal about improving work-life balance:

Women have suffered disproportionately during the pandemic, says Ms. Schulte. Women make up more of the lower-income service and retail jobs that vanished as Covid-19 gripped the economy. About one in four working mothers surveyed this summer for McKinsey and LeanIn.org’s sixth annual Women in the Workplace study said they had considered leaving the workforce or downshifting their careers. The report also found that Black and Latina mothers are more likely to be their families’ sole breadwinners or to have partners working outside the home during the pandemic. They were also more likely than white mothers to be responsible for all child care and housework. Some parents have already dropped out of the workforce. If you and your family are in a situation where you are trying to balance child care, remote schooling and work, you don’t have to default to traditional gender roles, says Ms. Schulte. “This is an opportunity for couples to really be a team,” she says.

If one partner does have to give up hours at work, or even take a leave from the workforce, it is important to listen to the losses. Census data from 2019 shows men earned more than women, on average, and in heterosexual relationships, this may result in some women feeling as though they need to leave their positions to care for children, says Ms. Schulte. She says these families often prioritize a father’s career over a mother’s because men are typically paid more, and because families in the U.S. must pay more out of pocket for health, safety, education and welfare than families in other countries, where child care is subsidized. “There can be guilt on the part of the partner who continues working, and they don’t want to talk about it, so they put their head in the sand like an ostrich,” Ms. Schulte says. This is harmful long term. It is better to address feelings up front, and acknowledge the sacrifices, she says.