Effects of working mothers on their relationships
Currently, the world is experiencing major economic challenges. Consequently, everyone is forced to work extra hard to make ends meet. This aspect makes people spend more time at their places of work than with their family members. Dummet P. et al. (2014) alludes that intimate relationships are on the decline in the modern society. Furthermore, psychologists explicate that busy lives today makes it difficult to maintain relationships in the society Dummet P. et al. (2014). Traditionally, the society regarded mothers as the weaker gender intellectually and expected them to stay at home and take care of their families. However, the economic changes in the society have forced mothers to join the corporate world creating a strain in their relationships with their family members and other members of the society. This discourse seeks to examine the effects of working mothers on their relationships with her children, husband, and the society.
More women are currently joining the workforce and are heading esteemed positions. They are able to give their children proper educational opportunities, nutrition, and healthcare. By doing so, these mothers consider themselves role models to their children promoting good relations between them. However, this fact implies that very many children spend most of the time in childcare centers as their mothers are busy at their places of work. These mothers spend more hours away from their children and this has both behavioral and cognitive effects on the children. Cognitive effects arise because of children receiving less attention from the caregivers at childcare centers. In addition, the children of working mothers record poor school performance and are less interested school activities. Furthermore, being in the labor force limits the time mothers interact with their children. They get home when they are too tired to mingle with the children. Working also limits mothers from engaging in tasks such as shopping and domestic activities with their children. Notably, children are most fascinated when they work and interact with their mothers.
A working mother helps the husband in providing financially for the family thus promoting the husband-wife relationship. A working mother facilitates family life and this makes their husbands proud of them. A mother’s work helps in creating a common interest with her husband. As a result, it strengthens the husband-wife bond. Husbands appreciate it when working mothers are able to apply their work skills at home (Reynolds et al., 2003). Subsequently, husbands become more supporting upholding their relationship. Although a mother’s work is beneficial, it can also be detrimental to her relationship with her husband. They spend less time with the husbands as they spend longer hours at workplace. Moreover, working mothers carry home incomplete tasks limiting the time they spend with their husbands. The husbands feel that the working mothers are less committed to their spouses. Besides, working mothers have difficulty dealing with work related stresses. They carry home the work related stresses and bad moods. These bad moods affect negatively how they relate with their spouses. In addition, working mothers spend more hours working and by the time they get home, they are tired, drained, and sleepy. This aspect affects their intimate relationship with their spouses (Thomson R. et al. 2012).
Traditionally, the society believed that the husband was the breadwinner while the wife was a homemaker. Currently, women have flooded the workforce. The working mother serves several purposes in the society. A mother’s work improves the state of the society. For instance, a mother who is a teacher imparts knowledge to the young minds. As a result, these young ones make the society better through their innovations. A working mother earns respect from the society. The society recognizes that the mother is hardworking and determined and therefore serves as a good example to the young girls. This feature strengthens the relation between working mother and the society. The society, however, is not ready to accept the role of a working mother. A mother’s work affects the relationship with the society by destroying friendship ties (Dummet P. et al. (2014). Mothers are too busy at their places of work to maintain long-term friendships with members of the society.
References
DeJong A. (2009). Working Mothers: Cognitive and Behavioral Effects on Children. South Dakota State University.
Dummet P., Hughes J. & Stephenson H. (2014). Life Upper Intermediate Workbook. robertn9: http://www.scribd.com/doc/225252274/Life-Upper-Intermediate-Workbook.
Reynolds T., Callender C. & Edwards R. (2003, July 24). The Impact of Mothers' Employment on Family Relationships. Retrieved from Joseph Rowntree Foundation: http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/impact-mothers-employment-family-relationships
Thomson R., Hadfield L., Kehily M. J. & Sharpe S. (2012). Acting up and acting out: encountering children in a longitudinal study of mothering. Qualitative Research: DOI: 10.1177/1468794111421876, 12(2) 186–201: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CGMQFjAJ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uk.sagepub.com%2Fflick5e%2Fstudy%2Farticles%2FCH9_Qualitative%2520Research-2012-Thomson-186-201.pdf&ei=rvB8VMH-N8jMPZChgKgF&us.
