Reasons a mother might need to work

There are many reasons a mom may need to work; it could be for economic or social reasons. If a single mom is raising a child alone, she may have to find an income in order to support herself and her children. Two parent households have the same income requirement because of the high cost of living in certain parts of the country. The mom may need to work outside the home for social reasons; to interact with other people or maintain business contacts previously established.

Other reasons a mother might work:

High cost of living

There was a time in history when one person would work in the household and that was enough to support a family household; with the high cost of living and inflation, that is no longer the case. During the 2008 economic recession, many men lost their jobs in trade professions such as construction jobs. Woman have filled in the job gap and in a recent Pew research article found that woman make up 40% of the modern workforce. Moms are working not by choice but by necessity, to help provide for the family expenses. During the 1950s and 1960s, there was the sense that the average family could get ahead by working hard and investing in a home. Because of today’s high cost of living and wages not keeping up with inflation, there is a sense of that dream being unattainable for many in the United States. The parents and grandparents or yesteryear had a better opportunity at the American dream than today’s American families.

One income household

There are many heads of households who are single parents. There are many reasons for single parent households that could explain how their economic condition can be drastically altered, in instances of death, divorce, and unexpected events. Regardless of the reason, moms who are single parents have a dilemma of finding safe affordable child care for kids under the school age to find a decent wage earning job. Single moms have to have the support and aid of family and friends to come up with a solution to this common issue. There are moms who have to struggle with their responsibilities of motherhood and issues that arise due to work, such as lack of quality time with child. Despite these problems, the moms have to work to provide a good stable home for themselves and their children. Universal childcare would aid the working moms of America immensely; that was an idea President Obama spoke of during his state of the union address.

Need to be out and about

Besides the economic reasons a mom would need to work would be to simply maintain human contact with someone who isn’t a child. Moms become isolated as they stay at home taking care of a small child, there is a need to find socialization with other adults that work for a common business or issue. There are moms that form play date groups with other moms, but that interaction is centered around the children, and moms need to unwind and find other interest during their “me” time. There are parents who have date night to keep their relationship fresh and unpredictable, so there are moms that need that alone time to reconnect with themselves and others with similar interests. Even, if it’s for an hour a day, it is a little reward to themselves, and a great time for kids to gain a little independence with their babysitter. Being and working outside the home allows some sanity and much needed break for the mom from her children. It doesn’t mean that moms want to be away from their kids, it means they need to be focused on themselves as much as the children.

In summary, there are many reasons why a mom would work outside the home, regardless of the reason or motive, moms truly never stop being moms. Moms are on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week, even when they work at the office. It is important for employers to address issues with working moms to keep a vital workforce ability to grow the company through productivity. Some employers have begun to accommodate moms with on- site daycare, flexible hours and maternity leave.