You think you have it tough? Imagine being a working mom in Tokyo
Last week, I was in Tokyo on a business trip. It was only my second visit to Japan and my first working trip there so I do not pretend to be an expert on Japanese culture. I was working with a group of 14, 7 of whom are women. Only one of the women was a working mom. I was eager to understand what her life is like and how she manages.
Child care in Japan is difficult to find and very expensive. Most women, she explained, stop working when their have children because it is so difficult to find good, affordable child care. Her 13 year old daughter is at boarding school and her 3 year old son goes to day care every day. Her husband goes to work early and gets out promptly at 6. Since she is a lawyer, she can never predict what time she will get home. So, she drops her son off every morning and her husband picks him up. That works really well, until he gets a cold.
She explained to me the high stress she felt when her son had a fever and had to stay home for a week. Fortunately, her supervisor was understanding and allowed her to work from home for the week. Her clients were not as understanding but she really had no choice.
As I listened to her, I felt sympathy and gratitude. Sympathy because, as a working mom for 16 years, I understood the stress you feel when you can't give your clients or your boss 100% of your energy AND you can't give your sick child 100% of your attention. Gratitude because I have always had good, affordable child care. Without good child care options, the stress created by a sick child can be very intense.
I would like to hear your stories of times when you had to stay home from work to care for a sick child or you had to leave a sick child to go to work. Write to me at barrett@barrettavigdor.com.
Child care in Japan is difficult to find and very expensive. Most women, she explained, stop working when their have children because it is so difficult to find good, affordable child care. Her 13 year old daughter is at boarding school and her 3 year old son goes to day care every day. Her husband goes to work early and gets out promptly at 6. Since she is a lawyer, she can never predict what time she will get home. So, she drops her son off every morning and her husband picks him up. That works really well, until he gets a cold.
She explained to me the high stress she felt when her son had a fever and had to stay home for a week. Fortunately, her supervisor was understanding and allowed her to work from home for the week. Her clients were not as understanding but she really had no choice.
As I listened to her, I felt sympathy and gratitude. Sympathy because, as a working mom for 16 years, I understood the stress you feel when you can't give your clients or your boss 100% of your energy AND you can't give your sick child 100% of your attention. Gratitude because I have always had good, affordable child care. Without good child care options, the stress created by a sick child can be very intense.
I would like to hear your stories of times when you had to stay home from work to care for a sick child or you had to leave a sick child to go to work. Write to me at barrett@barrettavigdor.com.
Hi Barrett:
I am so happy to be a part of your blog.
You are a great Mom and I am delighted to be working with you on the new book. My hope is that many more working mothers will join us as we build our stories of wonderful women.
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