Shock horror! Some mothers prefer going to work than looking after their children.
There are, according to research, many more mums out there than we realise who find juggling the demands of their kids and household chores throughly exhausting and who see work as a relative island of tranquility!
In truth, for many of us there's no shock or horror about any of that but because women are still judged on feeling like this, they often struggle to admit it out loud.
Stats show that women are having children later in life and so by then, they’ve often built up successful careers and find it difficult to give them up to look after children full time.
Scientists at Pennsylvania State University measured the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in a group of workers throughout the day, using saliva swabs and while both men and women were found to be less stressed at work, men showed only a moderate difference while in women the contrast was stark.
When questioned, the majority of men said they felt happier at home, but most women said the opposite.
Clinical psychologist Dr Fin Williams, who runs the Parent Perspectives organisation that helps people adapt to parenthood, believes the shift from home as a sacred sanctuary to a place of stress can be blamed on the increasing demands on women.
‘Women are doing more than ever,’ says Dr Williams. ‘Statistics show that they do nearly twice as much work in the home, including childcare and domestic chores, even when both work full-time.
‘They’re less likely to live near extended family, too, so the community support they’d once have relied on isn’t there. All these factors add up to increased stress in the home.
‘As a result, women can find going to work restorative, as it gives them space to think and the chance to be challenged and rewarded in another way.’
Dr Williams goes on to say ‘Women who admit to finding childcare exhausting or boring, and to needing time to focus on themselves, are often seen not to be devoting themselves to their children in the way they should. This is extremely unfair.’
We need to acknowledge that, for women, being at home can be very stressful and let go of the stigma attached to saying that,’ she says. ‘If we stop expecting women to be perfect and to juggle several roles without complaint, we can accept we need to find a way to share the role better.'
Job share the role better in fact!
