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Krystal Turner
Professor Korpi
English 102
4 August 2015
Work Life Balance for Women
Women who strive to achieve a successful career and maintain a
healthy work life balance face a daunting, even impossible, challenge. Turn
on the TV to any sitcom or morning talk show to observe how womens lives
are marketed. These showcase how to be a better homemaker, mother, and
wife. Conversely, open up any financial or business magazine and there are
ads for Mens fashion, golfing resorts, and the worlds next best face shaving
cream. Men are portrayed as strong, hard working, and professional.
Together these portray an image of men as the dominant head of household
and women are simply the caretakers and mothers. Currently, people across
the world view these traditional stereotypes as normal despite the fact
women make up roughly 46.9 percent of the work force and, particularly
those with children, about 70 percent in 2012 (Employment Status).
Generally, the concept of being considered an outstanding employee means
working the longest hours, being the most competitive, and sacrificing any
personal life to gain credibility in the workplace. This concept is imbedded in
workplace culture. The foundation of this ideology was centered on a stay at
home mother and a breadwinning father. Regardless of the influx of women
in the workplace, they are still relied on to solely maintain the household
while also pursuing careers as robust as their male counterparts. The
concept of work life balance has come under scrutiny in the last few years,
but little has been enforced to reform these societal models. With the way

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Americas economy and society is structured, women face more challenges

than men in achieving a successful career and healthy work life balance.
Work life balance is generally considered to be a satisfying balance
between time spent at work and time spent pursuing lifestyle activities (i.e.
hobbies, personal time, children, etc.). The inadequacy to attain work life
balance can cause social, mental, and physical health ailments. Because of
the male breadwinner stereotype, women feel a great amount of guilt
because they (are) unable to perform what they perceived as a sufficient
caring role (Wattis, Standing and Yerkes 10-13). Men often times do not feel
the same amount of guilt because they are adhering to a comfortable
stereotype; a stereotype made specifically for them. Men are supposed to
leave the women to take care of the home and all the conflicts thereof and
as long as they are providing monetarily for the household, they are doing
their duty. Women who work often feel undue guilt for leaving their families
or feeling as if they are giving more to their careers than their duties at
home. While guilt is a valuable emotion, it can also cause undo harm
psychologically and physiologically. Guilt is an emotion engrained in human
nature to provide a moral standard. It provides a painful emotional feeling
when one feels they have strayed from their moral standard. When a woman
feels she is neglecting her responsibilities at home, it causes guilt; when she
feels she is neglecting her career, it causes guilt. When society questions a
mothers ability and desire to care for their children due to a parallel desire
to have a career, it causes guilt. This overwhelming feeling of guilt results
feelings of depression, a fragile mental state, and provokes cardiovascular

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disease and gastrointestinal disorders (Chang). In some cases, guilt

contributes to increased alcohol intake and smoking. Women often make
choices driven by these feelings of guilt and it results in poor mental health
and an overall feeling of unhappiness. The vicious cycle of guilt continues
when a woman feels she has to leave her career in order to balance her
home and personal life.
Many women choose to leave their careers in hopes of finally relieving
those feelings of guilt and providing for their families without interruption
from a demanding career. However, that does not inherently mean they have
resolved their guilt or are satisfied with the decision. Anne Marie Slaughter,
the first woman director of policy planning at the State Department, left her
high profile government career to be more available for her teenage children.
Instead of her colleagues supporting her, Slaughter faced countless numbers
of judgmental comments and condescending advice, something she had
once done to her colleagues when they were in similar situations. She
recalls, Id been the woman congratulating herself on her unswerving
commitment to the feminist cause, chatting smugly with her dwindling
number of college or law-school friends who had reached and maintained
their place on the highest rungs of their profession. Slaughter perpetuated
this astounding feeling of guilt to other women in similar positions for leaving
the workplace to attend to family matters. However when she discovered
that working and raising a family no longer coincided, she found herself in
the same position. She needed to decide whether to focus on her very
successful career or spend more time pursuing her crumbling relationships

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with her teenagers. Instead of being in a position where it was understood

and celebrated for putting her aspirations aside to raise her family, she was
degraded and insulted. Her reputation as a successful and powerful
businesswoman was diminished because she chose to do what women do.
Slaughter came to the realization that the women who have managed to be
both mothers and top professionals are superhuman, rich, or self-employed. Her

accomplishments were tarnished because she no longer chose to sacrifice

her family and personal time. This perpetuation of guilt happens between
men and women alike but when a woman chooses her family or her career,
undue guilt from others and self ensue.
A solution to balancing work and life would be to cut back on working
hours, as many people do. However, a womans income is no longer
supplemental; it is increasingly a necessary source of funds. More than 40
percent of mothers are the sole or primary source of income for the
household (United States Council of Economic Advisers). This increasing
amount of pressure to provide funds for childcare, transportation, housing
and other living essentials causes an adverse mentality to taking unpaid
leave from their careers, including maternity leave. According to the Family
Medical Leave Act, a woman can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, jobprotected leave per year for employees who have worked at least 1,250
hours a qualifying employer (FMLA). Most often times this is only used for
maternity leave purposes and taken advantage only when absolutely
necessary. The FMLA law took 9 years to enact, and though it was a
tremendous stride toward supporting families and workers in the United

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States, its estimated that only 50 percent of working women qualify (Berger,
Hill and Waldfogel 44-45). The majority of mothers return to work between
11 weeks and 6 months postpartum. Although many women returned to
work when their FMLA benefits expired at 12 weeks. Because it is unpaid
leave and their households rely on their income, women often use their
accrued paid time off or vacation pay during their FMLA leave instead of for
personal use or sick days. The duration of this leave correlates directly to the
success and amount of time a mother breastfeeds. In a study of working
postpartum mothers, breastfeeding declined progressively from 72 percent
at 5 weeks, to 58 percent at 11 weeks, and 37 percent at 6 months (Grice et
al. 23-24). It is common knowledge that breastfeeding provides several
irreplaceable benefits to both the mother and child, some of which being
essential nutrition and strengthening emotional connection. Because of the
pressure associated with providing for the household women choose to
compromise their mental, physical and emotional state, even the health and
emotional wellbeing of their children, to quickly return to work.
Several generations of women have seen their mothers, grandmothers
and great grandmothers fight to work alongside men; fight to be equal inside
of the workplace by working like a man because they know its a mans
world. In previous generations, somewhat ending in the 1950s, fathers
would have to give permission for these women to become educated, work
and have a career. Far too many of these women were not allowed to venture
outside of household work. They were to get married, let the husband work
and raise children. But the women who chose to pursue education and

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careers had to set aside any maternal instincts and work like a man to
prove themselves and pave the way for future generations of women. The
issue of work life balance is viewed as a primarily feminine issue even
though women are increasingly becoming known as household
breadwinners; 24 percent of married women earn more than their husbands,
compared to only 7 percent in 1970 (United States Council of Economic
Advisers). Unfortunately, little has changed in workplace society to support
women in the workforce rather than those who solely stay home with their
children. Today, in both married and single families, all parents including
step, biological and adoptive parents are employed in more than 60 percent
of households. This is up from roughly 40 percent in 1965(United States
Council of Economic Advisers). Regardless, women continue to be the
primary caregivers to the household. On average men work roughly an hour
more than women on workdays, but men contribute significantly less to
housework. On an average day, 20 percent of men compared to 50 percent
of women contribute to housework such as laundry or cleaning. 38 percent of
men compared to 65 percent of women contribute to meal preparation or
cleanup. Adults who live with children 6 years or younger, women roughly
contribute 1 hour providing childcare, such as feeding or bathing, on
weekdays compared to only 25 minutes for men (American Time Use
Survey). Women have risen since the 1950s to become household
breadwinners, educating themselves, working equal to that of men; yet they

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are still primarily responsible for cooking, cleaning, and taking care of
children.
For women, advancement within their careers is equally as important
to that of men. The increased pressure of providing to their household funds
means increased pressure to receive raises, work longer hours, and work
harder than needed to exceed. This causes an immense amount of stress
within the workplace and within the home. The correlation between
perceived worklife balance among peers and supervisors is positively
related to career advancement potential, specifically for those who are in
management professions (Lyness 790-793). This creates yet another vicious
cycle for women. If there is a perceived work life conflict, people correlate it
to being unsuccessful in your profession. However, if there is a healthy work
life balance, it is perceived as being more successful in your profession and
will result in higher advancement potential. In a study by G. Delina, PhD
research scholar at Pondicherry University in India, it was found that married
working women found it substantially difficult to balance their work and
personal life despite their age, personal profession, number of children or
spouses profession (281). The affect of this work life conflict spills over into
the home and work environment, causing decreased productivity at work and
stress at home.
The pressure to have a successful career with advancement potential
and balancing a stable home results in a lack of personal time. Driven by
guilt, pressure, and stress women find it increasingly difficult to make
personal time. Instead of going to the gym, dinner with friends, or social

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occasions, they rush home. As stated above, women spend at least an hour
after work caring for children along with cooking, cleaning, and other
housework. This leaves little to no time for personal care or mental
decompression after a long, stressful day at work. One of several solutions to
the issue is flexibility in work schedules. An example of flexibility would be
considered as the ability to change work hours and take work home. Lower
mental health scores are associated with higher levels of job spillover into
home and intermediate levels of job flexibility. Women who reported high
levels of job spillover into home had mental health scores that were
significantly less than women who reported low levels of spillover (Grice et
al. 19). Less than one third of full time employees report having flexible
work hours, and only 39 percent of part time workers have the same option
(United States Executive Office of the President). Because of this women are
put in position to leave their careers or sacrifice their personal time. They are
forced to make the decision to either pursue their careers and neglect their
family or have a family and neglect their aspirations of a career. Among
parents, women are much more likely than men to experience family-related
career interruptions and far more women than men say being a working
parent has made it more difficult to advance their career (10 Findings).
Unlike the predicament women face, men are allowed and even praised for
working long hours, being the breadwinners of the household, and doing little
to contribute to children and the household.
Working mothers continue to have limited options in obtaining a
positive work life balance. The issue could be resolved by simply ensuring

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household duties and childcare activities were equally split between parents.
However, changing a societal norm has proven to be extremely difficulty
throughout history. Government and workplace reformation would be the
next logical step in ensuring a more equal balance. Conducting a simple
internet search on women and work life balance returns webpage after
webpage detailing companies which offer the most comprehensive work life
balance options; the best companies to work for as a mother; the top 20
companies in the United States that provide flexible working arrangements.
The desire for an attainable work life balance is undeniably present, yet
government and companies have left the issue to be resolved by women
amongst their households. Work life balance programs give companies a
competitive advantage; women are searching specifically for them. Many
companies offer a program such as wellness incentives, childcare spending
accounts, health spending accounts, and discounts or perks through their
company. However, the government has little involvement in monitoring and
implementing these programs. In the European Union, different countries
impose more strict regulations on employers that reduce their flexibility in
regard to programs such as vacation time, paternal leave, flextime,
telecommuting, etc. Work life balance programs in the European Union are
considered a social responsibility. In the US, its companies who are
ultimately responsible for developing and implementing these programs
(Joshi et al. 3-6). Workplace reformation could be as simple as

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accommodating flexible work schedules by including this component into

their compensation, such as 401k plans and medical benefits.
Sheryl Sandberg, author of the 2013 book Lean In: Women, Work, and
the Will to Lead and chief operating executive of Facebook, believes that
women should not limit their careers and become passive just because they
want a family or because its difficult. She is undeniably enterprising the way
women fit in to the corporate world. In her book she encourages women to
lean in in to their careers rather than choosing to leave before they
leave. She presents the possible causes of and solutions to why womens
progress in the corporate world has become static and overlooked. Her
recommendations are compelling and commonsense, but unfortunately not a
viable solution to most of the working class women. She strongly believes
that women simply cannot have it all. Women must abandon the idea that
they can have a family, a career, and personal time. She encourages women
to let go of their guilt and learn to combine their professional achievement
with their personal achievement. However, she doesnt take into account
that some womens professional achievements dont always align with
personal achievement. Some women want to spend their evenings watching
their childrens Tee-Ball games or spend their weekend working on projects
around the house. Some women see their family as their greatest
achievement and Sandberg suggests letting that sense of achievement go
and making their career their greatest achievement. Sandberg is a highly
educated and very successful woman who has resources and funds to
support her lifestyle. She can afford a round the clock nanny, private flights

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out of town on the weekends, and she doesnt have to work overtime to
make ends meet. Many women rely on the dual income their households
receive to make ends meet; they rely on overtime and working
unconventional hours. Many women, unlike Sandberg, need to work and
sacrifice their family and personal time. Unfortunately, strongly advocating
that women continue to sacrifice deeply rewarding aspects of their lives
outside of work is not the way to demand workplace or societal reformation.
As women continue to enter the workforce, the demand for work life
balance continues to rise. Women are increasingly becoming the most skilled
and educated workers. In 2013, women ages 25-34 were more than 20
percent more likely than men to be college graduates (United States Council
of Economic Advisers). Women need to have the same opportunities as men
to succeed. They need to have the option for paid maternity leave or have
paternity leave as an option for their partner; flexible working arrangements
grouped into compensation packages to help offset long commuting times or
inconvenient hours at work; vacation time that is used for time off and not
maternity leave or sick days for their children. As a society and a country, we
need to reform how we view men in the household and women at work. Both
sexes are equally responsible for providing household funds and both sexes
should be responsible for maintaining a healthy work life balance at home.
Companies and government need to continue to reevaluate work life balance
programs and ensure they are being implemented. This issue is not just a
feminine issue; it is an issue of an unequal labor market that contributes to
gender inequality. More companies need to realize the positive outcomes

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increasing the happiness of women in the workplace. It has been proven that
employees who are happier at work and more productive in the workplace.
Women who are happier at work have higher mental health scores and
therefore are happier at home. Men who become more involved in the
household will likely see deeply rewarding outcomes such as closer
relationships with their family and a more important title than just
breadwinner. There needs to be a better society for all women, not just top
ranking career professionals, but for women who work low wage part time
jobs. With a strong focus on changing social policies, voicing a desire for
workplace reformation, and receiving support from all parents, professionals,
and genders women can achieve their career and lifestyle aspirations.