Find the Balance: Motherhood & Work

Motherhood is one of the warmest and most magical periods of life. This event radically changes everything around.
How to combine happy motherhood and effective work?

Our employees shared their experiences and the challenges they faced.

How do you manage to combine work and motherhood? 

• "Working parents often rely on a combination of support from their husband, extended family and flexible work arrangements to manage their responsibilities at work and home. Effective time management, prioritization, and organization skills are critical to balancing the demands of work and family life. The need to constantly switch between roles as a parent and a professional can also be challenging, as it requires a great deal of mental and emotional agility" (Khrystyna Hrymak, QA Engineer).

• "When I became a mother, I realized that I needed to improve my time management skills (organizational, goal setting, planning, problem solving, stress management). Now I feel that all the work I have done helps me to combine my motherhood and my current work. I used to plan my day on maternity leave and now I plan my working day and prioritize my tasks" (Zoryana Kravchuk, QA Engineer).

• "I have a super cool team and support. My parents help me take care of my daughter during working hours, so it wasn't a problem from the beginning" (Maryana Vilchynska, Recruitment Specialist).

• "The balance between work and motherhood can be difficult, but with some planning, organization, prioritization, and support from family and friends, it is definitely achievable. And I have one important rule - always be present. When I'm at work, I focus on work, when I'm with my kids (I have two 🙂 ), I focus on them. Being present in the moment helps me to be more productive and effective in both roles.  Finally, I always try to make time for myself to rest and recharge. I thank God that I get to be a mom🙂" (Uliana Horishna, Travel Manager).

• "Well, it's my first baby, but I definitely can admit managing my first project was easier:)  
  Good planning, strict schedule, tasks priority, work optimization, and delegacy. But the most important is staying flexible, because all above-mentioned may fail" (Liubov Vykhopen, Delivery Manager).

   

• "I don't really have a special recipe)  
  I balance harmoniously because I just treat work as a third child. I love, invest, develop skills, we spend a lot of time together. And I'm happy to watch the progress. When you love what you do, and you have a desire - you will always find the opportunity to combine" (Tetyana Utlova, Recruitment Lead).

• "I love my job. So, I didn't plan to be on maternity leave for a long time.
  Now my daughter is 8 months old. I returned to work +- 3 months ago.
  Combining work and motherhood (at least at this time) is not very difficult, because I work part-time.  
  My daughter is still small, she sleeps a few hours during the day. So, my rule is that Vanessa's sleep time must be my work time. 
  Sometimes I can put her on a thermo rug, lay out the toys, and as a result the baby have fun, and the mom finishes her work. When the task is more difficult, dad comes to help and gives me time to work quietly in the evening. 
   
  What I definitely understood during this time: if your work brings you pleasure - everything is possible, the main thing is a desire"(Roksolana Hrynyk, Mobile Developer).

• "In my experience, the only way to combine work and motherhood is to work remotely. I have 2 children. When my eldest daughter was born, I started working remotely. In those days, remote work was not as mainstream as it is now. But I have a project and I need to finish it. My daughter was not calm, in the first months I had only 2 options or I need to hold her on me or listen to her cry. So I spent almost a year in bed with my laptop and my daughter on me. And I want to note that I have never worked so productively. I didn't have many other options, I needed to be with my daughter all the time, I didn't get a good night's sleep, but there was plenty of time to work at the same time breastfeeding and holding my daughter. When she grew up, I worked a little less. But it was my choice - I did not enroll her in kindergarten and just enjoyed the time we spent together. I still had work to do and had a good opportunity to develop my time management skills :) Especially when my son born. But after a while, the kids spend a lot more time together playing, and I have more time for work and for myself. In my experience, I can recommend having more than 1 child - you will have much more time Over time, I began to work from the office, which was good to be among people with similar interests again, to make new acquaintances. Unfortunately, my son got sick. His diabetes manifested during COVID. At this time, everyone is working remotely. So I returned to my usual pattern - little sleep, being with children, and working at the same time. Now we have much better opportunities than ten years ago. It is possible to work completely remotely or according to a hybrid scheme. You can work and communicate with people from different parts of the of the world, build a career, and be with a child at the same time" (Olena Volyanska, PHP Developer).

• "I’m such a person that needs to be occupied all the time. To stay sane, I need both work and motherhood 😊They’re like yin and yang for me: opposite spheres of life that very much interact with each other creating healthy balance in my life. And I love and cherish both, especially last 3.5 years 😊" (Oksana Vergeles, Content Manager). 

• "My little Victoria is 7 years old and she needs to go to school every morning, so this is a perfect time to drink coffee and start working. Usually, I'm very productive when my daughter is not at home. When Victoria comes back from school, we have lunch together and she knows that I need to work, so she is having some rest, does her homework, and waits until my working day will be finished. After work, even if I am tired, we spend our evenings together, we play games, go for a walk, and watch some family movies. For me is very important to have a good time with her and enjoy every moment" (Nadiya Karpyuk, Accountant).

• "1. Prioritize: Make a list of tasks that need to be done and prioritize them based on their importance. 
   
  2. Time management: Set a schedule that allows you to work and take care of your children. Make sure you have enough time for both. 
   
  3. Flexibility: Be flexible with your work schedule. Some days may require more attention to your children, while others may require more focus on work. 
   
  4. Support: Surround yourself with a support system of family, friends or childcare providers. They can help you with childcare and other tasks. 
   
  5. Communication: Communicate with your employer about your role as a mother and any accommodations you may need to balance work and motherhood. 
   
  6. Self-care: Take care of yourself physically and mentally by getting enough rest, exercise, and taking breaks when needed" (Lyudmyla Baik, Accountant). 

• "I have grown children and now it is very easy to combine work and motherhood. But when the children were smaller, it was a little difficult. Grandma and nannies helped" (Yuliya Diyak, QA Engineer). 

What skills from your work helped you in motherhood and vice versa? 

• "Let's start from vice versa. I like to work with risks in order to have a total prediction of all situations and be always ready to anything. My little human is rather unpredictable and my desire to feel the control this way is not helping. 
  What helps?! Ability to organize my family with new routines. Time management, stick to the baby's schedule without violation. In future, I bet a negotiation skill will be useful" (Liubov Vykhopen, Delivery Manager). 

• "From my point of view, key skills to succeed in both are: multi-tasking, time management, prioritization and communication (although, proving your point of view at work is much easier than at home, and you’re more listened to at work)" (Oksana Vergeles, Content Manager). 

• "Stress resistance 100%, the ability to make arguments and convince when needed. And if we talk about the opposite, then…probably it will be the ability to keep silent😅" (Maryana Vilchynska, Recruitment Specialist).

• "Composure and the ability to do everything according to a schedule drawn up in advance" (Yuliya Diyak, QA Engineer). 

• "Organizational and time-management skills are crucial for both work and motherhood. As a QA, I may have developed a strong attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and the ability to manage complex tasks. These skills can be valuable in managing the various tasks and responsibilities that come with motherhood. As a mother, I may have developed skills in time management, prioritization, and multitasking that can be valuable in managing my workload as a QA. Being a parent requires patience and empathy, which are all valuable skills in the workplace" (Khrystyna Hrymak, QA Engineer). 

• "The main skills that help me at work and in motherhood are: 

- listen attentively, analyze the information I got received, and try to find a solution suitable for all sides. 

- to be patient and sometimes repeat the same things several times. 

- prioritize my tasks and sometimes focus only on urgent ones. 

- to be positive, believe in better, and never give up" (Nadiya Karpyuk, Accountant). 

What are the biggest challenges? 

• "The biggest challenges related to the combination of work and motherhood are often centered around the difficulties of balancing two schedules. Mothers often find themselves juggling the responsibilities of work and childcare, and struggle to make both schedules work together. This can lead to feelings of stress, guilt, and overwhelm as mothers try to manage their time and prioritize their responsibilities.  
   
  One of the main difficulties for me is that work and motherhood duties often require being in different places at the same time, making it hard to meet the demands of both roles simultaneously. Balancing work and motherhood can be a complex and challenging process, but with support and the right resources, it is possible to find a healthy balance" (Nataliia Velyka, Accountant).

• "Keeping the balance. Sometimes it’s difficult to maintain a reasonable balance between work and motherhood. And you can’t neglect one sphere for the sake of the other" (Oksana Vergeles, Content Manager).

• "The biggest challenge for me in combination with work and motherhood is to find some free time for myself. There are so many responsibilities during the day that I forget to take care of myself and there are such periods that I feel burned out at work and at home. To avoid such a situation, I try to find a few hours per week for sport, reading books, coffee with friends, shopping, or walking alone. 
  These small things help me to relax and enjoy myself a bit 🙂" (Nadiya Karpyuk, Accountant).

• "I don't really see any challenges in this. Perhaps, the only one is to be able to successfully combine work and spending time with your sweetheart 🥰" (Maryana Vilchynska, Recruitment Specialist).

• "Managing competing demands on your time can be challenging, especially when project deadlines or family events overlap. Ensuring that your work and family responsibilities do not interfere with each other can be difficult. As a QA, I need to be available for testing during certain times or have deadlines to meet, which can be challenging to balance with parenting responsibilities. As a QA, it's important to stay current with new testing methodologies, tools, and technologies. This can be challenging when you also have to keep up with the demands of parenting. It can be challenging to focus on work tasks when you are worried about your children or have personal obligations to attend to. As a mother, I need to deal with unexpected interruptions, such as a sick child or a school closure. These interruptions can make it difficult to complete work tasks on time" (Khrystyna Hrymak, QA Engineer).

• "Be attentive at work and at the same time be attentive to children. In both cases, you cannot miss something important" (Yuliya Diyak, QA Engineer).

• "The biggest challenge is to keep work-life balance after achieving a new social role in personal life" (Liubov Vykhopen, Delivery Manager).