Making it Work: A PR Professional's Formula for Mastering the Working Mom Title

First things first: I’m not mastering anything. But I’m making it work, thanks to an incredible support system, which starts with my employer. And as a working mom at central Ohio’s best PR firm, there are certain methods, processes and values the Irvin PR team and I have implemented to making the impossible possible.

By impossible, I mean challenging. Being a working parent to young children can be just that. Add in variables such as one’s socio-economic background, a lack of family support, or a demanding career and things could get real hairy real fast.

Personally, I am a working mom to two young children. My husband—who has worked six days a week for six straight years in one of the most stressful career fields—is on an opposite schedule as me. As a family of four, we never have a single day off together unless vacationing.

So, take it from me when I say I know the balance can be daunting. Although more women entered the workforce through the latter part of the 20th century, that growth has remained stagnate in recent years. Working moms are being forced to make a choice between their career and family.

Someone shared a phrase with me, and I’ve never heard anything truer: Working moms never feel like they’re in the right room. As a career-driven woman, the job-related events I used to be first in line to attend now come with a fat cloud of guilt hovering over me as the ridiculous voices in my head bout about what’s more important—this or being at home with the kids. Flip the script and certainly there is work that could be attended to when I opt for home. Alas, the cloud remains.

In time, and with help that comes in many different forms, I’ve come to understand a workplace formula that makes life a little less cloud-bearing and a lot more enjoyable. As a manager and mom, here’s what I’ve learned:

Cheerleaders at Work Help Balance the Scale for Caregivers

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, women now make up 47% of the U.S. labor force, and United States Census Bureau data says working mothers account for 32% of all employed women. Women also make up more than 64% of PR professionals in the U.S. We dominate the field! In this phase of my life and career, Irvin PR has allowed me to take a back seat in certain aspects of the job, while simultaneously providing opportunities to climb the ladder. After many years of working early mornings and weekends, I’m encouraged to have my direct reports attend these events in my stead. The experience is good for them, and the extra time at home is great for me. Plus, our values require teamwork. We’re a small staff and everyone jumps in to support one another. My team has stepped in for me countless times as have I for them, and that support carries us all a long way.

Clear is Kind

Do yourself a favor and be honest with your boss and direct reports about what’s required of you outside of work, and together, outline workplace expectations that make sense for all involved. For example, the Irvin PR staff works in the office Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and remote on Fridays. I am all-in, fully committed to work during these hours, thanks to school and/or wonderful full-time childcare.

Outside of a mortgage, childcare is likely the largest expense a working parent has with a family spending on average $11,000 per year. But it’s also the choice I made. Irvin PR deserves my uninterrupted attention. However, come four o’clock, I’m running out of the door. My kids’ practices and games—which seem to be every night of the week these days--are on my work calendar. Everyone on my team knows I’m not in a hurry to leave the office because I loathe them as colleagues. And if there were a PR emergency, they know a call or text would be better suited as I wouldn’t be checking my email at the ballfields.

Involve the Kids

PR is a 24/7 job. While it’s important to set boundaries, work in this field may come at any point of the day, especially very early in the morning for news or on the weekends for an event. When I’ve been in a pinch, and if it makes sense, the kids have come along for the ride. One Saturday morning, my daughter clung to my leg as I facilitated the media at the AIDS Walk Ohio event. Another time, she accompanied me to a women’s empowerment event to celebrate the inaugural season of the Columbus Fury (Columbus’s first professional women’s volleyball team). She heard from local leaders like 10TV News Anchor Angela An and Cincinnati Bengal’s quarterback Joe Burrow’s mom, Robin Burrow. Thankfully, Irvin PR sees the benefits of me bringing a well-behaved child to work on occasion. Getting to be mom and manage at the same time makes working moms feel valued, trusted and heard.

Set the Example

Prioritizing work-life balance and mental health has been a requirement of Gen-Zs in the workforce, prompting organizations to reconsider their policies. What will happen as we see this generation become parents? Working moms: I encourage you to demonstrate your show-stopping juggling act with your head held high, and know that when you’re meeting your professional goals for the year, seeing your direct reports advance their skills, and seeing your kids thriving (well, for the most part), that it’s seen. It may not be seen that day, but when your 25-year-old direct report is in your position 10 years from now, she’ll look back into the depths of her memory for a shred of hope and be reminded that she, too, can make it work—thanks to that awesome role model she had and the important values upheld in the workplace.

The Kids are Fine

The massive rise of women joining the workforce in the 20th century spurred a major study spanning nearly 30 countries and two decades to gauge the happiness and success of adult children of working vs. stay-at-home moms. Results indicated there were no differences in happiness related to mothers’ employment status.

I’ll never forget the time I promised my 5-year-old daughter that we would have a mother-daughter outing. While in the car, my phone rang, and a client’s name came up on the screen. I panicked while combating a mix of guilt and pressure. I told my daughter to “hold your bubble” (a kindergartener’s directive for keeping quiet). She captured the imaginary bubble in her mouth letting me know she understood the assignment, and I answered the call. Afterward, I felt terrible. I turned my attention to my daughter and apologized. I felt the need to quickly explain why Momma has to work—to pay for the food, the car, the gas, her cute little booties—and I finished my spiel with a question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” She looked at me and without hesitation she simply said, “You.”

The guilt washed away, and a new, nicer perspective came to light, thanks to a child.

An organization’s team makeup, policies, values and procedures make this possible for the many working moms making strides in PR (and the many, many other demanding professions). While exhausted, they tend to be superwomen. Feed that power. You will see how it impacts the rest of your team and the future generations.

To my fellow working moms: Keep going. Your career is important. Your children are important. You are important. Be patient with your team, your clients, your family and most importantly, yourself.