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Do you leave your mothering skills at home when you enter your workplace? Or do you enjoy mothering co-workers and employees?
Are you the kind of person who makes sure everyone has a cup of tea first thing in the morning when you get to work? Do you bring brownies in for morning tea and make sure all you colleagues eat a piece of fruit at afternoon tea? In other words are you the mother hen of your workplace? Mothering characteristics can make you a very valuable asset/employee to have in the workplace. In areas such as human resources, customer service and in other careers that require sensitivity, nurturing, caring and support, these attributes can get you along way. But, what about in other employment? Women have to be very careful about their workplace mothering because it can affect their careers. It can lead to a woman being pigeon holed as the sympathetic ear and result in dealing with all the 'emotional' problems and issues in the workplace. This is something that may not necessarily be in your job description or that you are paid for. While making a round of coffee is a kind thing to do, you don't want to be regarded as the drinks lady - unless of course that is actually your job. Mothering in the workplace can also be a hindrance to career advancement if you are in an industry that does not favour 'nurturing' attributes. For example in the motoring industry in Australia, positions that require these characteristics are referred to as 'soft' roles as opposed to the hard 'line' positions. I am by no means suggesting that mothering qualities are bad or something to be ashamed of. But women in the workforce - especially mothers re-entering it - need to be aware of how they would like to be regarded in the workplace. Do you want to be known for your ability to make tea? Or for your work skills and how well you do your job? Women should use all their skills in the workplace, but 'mothering' skills should be tailored so they work and benefit the individual.
The copyright of the article Workplace Mothering in Working Mothers is owned by Angela Thomas-Jones. Permission to republish Workplace Mothering in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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