Working Moms Rule the World

Hi, we are Leah and Steph. A long time ago, unbeknownst to each other, we went to the same college a couple years apart. We both even studied in the same Occupational Safety and Health Department, and both held the position of lead graduate assistant. Upon graduation, Leah moved to Washington State to work. After several years she moved to Tennessee. Right around then Steph graduated and what do you know—she moved to Washington State to work. A couple moves later Steph also landed in Tennessee. As the tale goes, Steph went to work where Leah once worked, but had since left. It’s a great company called UCOR. So great in fact, that Leah’s husband worked there. Steph and he worked together. Leah and Steph knew of each other and their common school and work lineages, but still the two had never met. As time progressed Leah missed UCOR and returned. So, finally in January of 2019, Leah and Steph met. The rest is history, and the story has a happy ending. We became best friends, and so are our kids. Leah has two little boys. Steph has two little girls— ages 6, 6, 5, and 3.

In life, we are blessed to support each other as both coworkers and moms. It’s quite fun, really. At 3:00 p.m.

we may be in a work meeting talking about industrial hygiene sampling, by 6:00 p.m. we are at the ball fields cheering on our kiddos, and certainly by 7:00 p.m. we are playing post game freeze tag, where Steph will inevitably wipe out while dodging Leah’s oldest, who is quite fast.

Life is crazy and wild, and we navigate it together as members of the same tribe. As working moms, we balance a lot, and because of that skill set, we are unquantifiable worlds even collide. Tuck a kiddo into bed, log onto the computer to review a report, throw a load of towels in the dryer, and do all of this while mentally preparing for a big meeting in the morning. Creative problem solving is a mom’s specialty. This can take on many forms both at home and at work. At home we must figure out how to create “crazy pants day” at 9 pm because the school sent out a late-in-the-day email about this “fun event in value. We dialogue about being working moms often and recently sat down together and brainstormed our top 10 list that working moms are prone to offer an organization. However, before we go into our list (which is in no particular order) we want to make it clear that we do not negate the value of working dads or others in various stages of life; we simply are not writing from their perspective today.

Working moms can prioritize and reprioritize as needs arise while never letting anything drop. We do this at home. We do this at work. Sometimes the two for the kids.” Hand us a hot glue gun, yarn, scissors, and we will scavenge for other random household items to create crazy pants the likes of which Amazon has never seen. At work, creative problem solving may manifest as thinking outside the box about how to create or implement a new idea. Or when someone says it “can’t be done,” creative problem-solving finds three alternative ways to overcome the hurdle. Failure is not an option. As moms, we will move heaven and earth to not fail our children. This becomes part of the DNA of motherhood. It infiltrates into work as well. Give a mom a deliverable that seems near impossible and in lightning speed she will assemble a team, create a plan, and deliver the results before the deadline. She will do all this and remember to send cookies to school for the 36th school party of the year.

Moms are communicators. We have to be so our kids remember to pick up their socks, brush their teeth, wash their hands, and not forget their coats. The same skillset applies to work. Communication is key to success. Communication is the art of strategically understanding what you want to convey, how you will convey it, ensuring it was well received and if needed, inspiring others into action. After all, if you can make a 3-year-old eat cucumbers and peppers, you can do anything.

Let’s face it—our kids can be little puzzles and so can our team members. When it comes to figuring them out, moms have superpowers. A mom’s skillset helps her put the pieces together to optimize the team. She easily discerns what each team member is good at, what motivates them, what type of support is needed for their success, and what their unique attributes bring to the table.

As moms, our primary parental responsibility is to guide our tiny humans, so they blossom into independent contributors to society. We do this by exposing them to new opportunities and experiences. They may even struggle at first, but we provide them the support, tools, and knowledge to persevere. And once they do, we celebrate their success. We bring this to our employees as well when we see opportunities for growth, they may not see in themselves. We see them through it. We arm them with tools. We cheer them on. We celebrate their successes. Admittedly, once one becomes a mom, it can be hard to turn it off. Mothering forever will be a part of a woman’s identity after having children. We bring this nurturing trait to work with our routine checkins on our team’s wellbeing and the occasional homecooked goodies. It makes our work family feel like well, family. Managing the business of day-to-day morning routines, sports games, dance practices, work schedules, school events, and birthday parties demands a well-organized plan of attack. We stay three steps ahead. We prepare meals in advance, pack duffle bags of sports gear and favorite stuffed animals to stay ahead, and we identify who is responsible for each leg of transportation. In the workplace, we seamlessly plan the work and work the plan while maintaining the flexibility necessary to adjust at a moment’s notice. If coordination and logistics were a superpower, we would have it.

Whether we experience a sudden change in the baseball game schedule or a tot that wants to test out their negotiation skills, moms must be quick to adjust and evaluate all courses of action to identify the best path forward. In milliseconds, she can assess the adjustments that must be made to the carpool or identify where to draw the line on the size of the afterdinner treat. She takes a quick and balanced approach to charting a winning path forward for all involved; a skill that translates well in the workplace to balancing what is good for the company as a whole and what is good for the individuals and work groups she supports. For our tenth and final item on the list, working moms are results oriented. Whether at home or at work, they understand the importance of the bottomline outcomes for critical items—Did we coordinate all the necessary pieces to get the school project done on time? Did we find a way to motivate all the youngsters to willingly participate in the fun activity we have been planning for weeks? Did the work crew accomplish its goal of seamlessly rolling out a newly developed program to the company?

Moms know that a solid communications plan, paired with a robust execution strategy, is a recipe to achieve any goal.

To sum it up, with the mothering tendencies that cross over into the workplace, working mothers can not only make their teammates feel cared for and valued, but they can elevate the performance of individuals and the collective. The diversity of thought and skill they bring is a desirable compliment to their occupational aptitude. We end this column with a final thought on partnership. We couldn’t be the moms or workers we are without a robust support network. This includes family members, friends, the community, and our work families. Historically, working moms have not always had an easy journey. Some felt they had to choose between their kids and their job. A little employer support and flexibility goes a long way in aiding moms like us to be our best selves, which ultimately pays dividends on what we can accomplish with our teams at work and at home. We are thankful that companies like ours recognize the need for flexibility and partner with us to ensure our success. After all, in the end, we won’t let anyone down—a mom never does!

By Doug Parker, Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration