Balance. The right balance, the perfect balance…where everything falls into place. Finding it is so much harder for a woman then a man. Women play a series of roles in one lifetime. The role of a mother is one of the biggest and most important ones.
But for today’s career oriented women, finding the perfect balance between the home front and the work front is a challenge in itself. Playing the dual role of a home maker and career woman is hard…to put it in simple terms. So what can one do to manage both?
Flexibile work options… where you work few hours in the day or maybe a few days in the week. Several companies who trust your capability offer this system. The world of the internet and wonder moms has begun.
Flexible work hours are slowly becoming a way of life for a lot of women who want to remain part of the corporate work culture, as well as devote adequate time to their family and children. As more and more women are getting ready to put in a flexible work schedule, it’s heartening to see some companies are going all out to accommodate them.
So let’s talk to Monalisa Banerjee, a young MBA qualified mother whose main goal in life is seeking the perfect balance between the role of a mother and role of a marketing manager.
Here’s Monalisa, in conversation with Paroma Sen-Basu
Before playing the role of a mother, what was your career life like?
Well, I have a BBA degree with a MBA in marketing. Post my studies I entered the corporate world and spent 12 years working with reputed companies, performing a myriad crucial and strategic roles. From Bata to Crossword to the Future Group and Archies, my life was the office. However, things change, priorities change with time.
Where do you presently work? How do you manage both your roles, one as the head of a department and the other as a mother?
I am presently the Head of Products and Logistics in a Gurgaon based firm. I try and complete my official work while my son is in school. The minute he returns home, every moment is kept aside for him. I believe that a child needs his/her mother’s presence when they are young…this helps shape them and their minds.
How did you chance upon a flexible work option?
At first, I tried hard to manage my work front and home front but there was always a sense of guilt and this multiplied my stress levels. I was never at peace with myself.
I’ve managed the home front from the office, via remote control in the past but realized that although I had a good support system around me, basic needs of a child, any child for that matter, requires the presence of the mother. No support system can be a good enough substitute of a loving family environment. So one day I said to myself, ‘Let’s call it quits’. It was quite a decision after working for 12 long years.
I wanted to do something meaningful in life. So flexible work happens to be the best option I had. I work when my child is away at school, and I spend all my time with him when he comes back home. This makes me happy and contended. It’s the perfect balance. And not only do I benefit, my child does too because he can spend his growing years with his mother. So, if it makes everyone happy, it’s worth it.
