Juggling Work and Family: Making It Work

The Dilemma

Your employer expects you to be efficient and prepared. Your family needs you to be organized, compassionate, and nurturing. You juggle your children’s needs, your worries about your aging relatives, and your concern about the evenings dinner menu; yet your primary resources to do all this are within you. Planning and prioritizing are essential; communication and asking for support are paramount.

Organize and Prioritize

Utilizing effective time management techniques at work will help to streamline your job responsibilities. Learning and using long-range planning techniques at home and work will help. Delegate and trust others to take over your responsibilities from time to time so that you are not indispensable at work or at home.

Let Go of Perfection

Whether you work away from or stay at home, it is impossible to be a perfect parent; yet you will learn from your mistakes and adjust your expectations. Your ability to provide love, constructive discipline, and guidance is the most important gift you can give your children; they don’t need perfection!

Allow Time for Family

Family time may need to be scheduled just like dance lessons and soccer games. Private time with your spouse should be a top priority. Your family needs to know that their individual needs are important despite everyones hectic schedule. Some families make one evening a week a special pizza and game night, a tradition which can become especially crucial as the children grow older.

Allow Time for Yourself

Taking care of yourself can reap huge rewards physically and emotionally. One of the most important ways is by establishing a regular exercise routine, whether it be a daily walk in the neighborhood, a trip to a nearby gym three times a week, or joining a dance group at the local YMCA! Choosing an activity you truly enjoy will make sticking with it much easier.

Investigate Employer Sponsored Benefits and Programs

Be sure to check out all the options on this website which describe some of the family friendly benefits your employer sponsors. By contacting your manager or Human Resources department you may find additional information on options such as flextime, job sharing, telecommuting, or dependent care accounts.

It may take some juggling, some trial and error, but with good planning, organization and knowledge of how to balance work and family responsibilities, it can work for you and your family!