Balancing Parenting and Work Stress: A Guide

Most working parents look to their networks of friends, family, and co-workers for advice on balancing the competing demands of work and home. But the working-parent grapevine doesn’t always provide the most useful or can-do support — too often it’s contradictory, out of date, even downright disheartening. What parents need are simple recommendations based on experience that help confront this managerial and leadership challenge. This advice is a “best of” list – ten pieces of empowering, and unexpected, advice for meeting the demands of, and being comfortable in, your dual roles as a working mother or father. They include: Use your professional strengths. Have a vision for what you want your working-parent life to be. Think long term. Have a Plan B and don’t wait for a crisis to use it. Don’t always be a doer. And if you want flexibility at work, don’t just ask – sell the idea.