Work-life balance: 'A woman is designed to multitask'

Image: Women are designed to do multiple things at the same time, says Komal Goenka.
Photographs: Reuters

We'd asked you, our readers to tell us how you strike a balance between your personal and professional lives.

Komal Goenka from Mumbai shares her experience and tells us how she balances between work and family.

ALSO READ 'There is no work-life balance, only work-life integration'

Striking a balance between your work and personal life is not an easy job for working women.

Setting a priority in life post-marriage and kids is by far the most difficult thing for a working woman.

She is bonded emotionally as well as physically to her responsibilities.

Becoming a mother is a blessing which is bestowed only on women -- along with motherhood comes the responsibility of raising children with the best of everything.

There are always two sides to a coin.

When we say we feel guilty about leaving our children and going to work you must understand that it is completely our decision to earn an extra income so that we can have a better lifestyle in today’s inflationary world.

When I conceived for the first time on January 14, 2011, I had a gush of thoughts in my mind.

When I took my child in my arms I wondered whether it would be sinful if after three months, I went back to work leaving him behind at the hands of domestic helps who shared no bonding or relationship with my kid.

I knew they would take care of him in exchange of monetary benefit.

Out of what feeling will they feed him or play with him, I thought.

In India we are fortunate to have our parents (and in-laws) who rush to our rescue.

Balancing between office and home would have been a curse if they were not there.

Leaving your kid behind in the safe hands is the biggest satisfaction a mother could get.

A woman is designed to multi-task without even realising that they are performing ten different things at the same time.

Perhaps that is why God chose women to give birth to a child and not the father.

With the support of friends and family it is possible to strike a balance between professional and personal life.

At the same time it is very important that the people around you are adjusting and non-complaining -- this completely depends on our attitude towards them.

We should be thankful that few people are still human to understand the position of a woman who is leaving her small kid behind and going to work but it is entirely on us to make them understand our priorities in life.

Are you a career woman too?

Do you, feel the guilt of not being around for your kids?

How do you cope with it?

How do you strike a healthy balance between your professional and personal lives?

Tell us! We want to know!

Share your experience and advice with working moms and moms-to-be.

Write in to getahead@rediff.co.in (Subject: Work-life balance) and we'll publish the best ones right here on Rediff.com!

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Tags: India

'Time management is important -- it teaches our children to be disciplined'

I would like to share with you all an incident from my own life.

My kid was just 1.5 years when I joined my new company.

It was a new place with new people, new responsibilities, deadlines and pressures.

One thing I was careful about was the proximity.

This was a priority set by me so that in case of any urgency I could rush home and look after my child.

Being ambitious and making people believe the same are two different things which mostly working mothers face at their work places.

I was given an assignment with a deadline in office.

I was also was given a laptop which could be taken home if necessary or in case of completing pending work.

The office meeting started at 6 pm and my housemaid was supposed to leave by 6:30 pm.

My mother-in-law was not at home and there was only thing that constantly bothered me: What will happen to my kid who is alone at home after the maid leaves?

I realised I could not concentrate in the office meeting.

I stood up and apologised to the team for leaving the meeting midway and hurried back home to my kid.

Thereafter, I ensured that if a certain office task is important and if I have the choice of getting it done from home, I’d rather prefer that, than leave my kid alone at home.

As the child grows and we simultaneously grow in our respective careers, it becomes extremely difficult to spend quality time at home and with children.

During such times it is important to devote your full time with them over the weekends and also spend the rest of your day after office with family and kids.

This is very important because it also helps them realise that we are working for their betterment which is the responsibility of every working parent.

As a mother I would be concerned for my kid all the time.

Even if I am engrossed in the most important task in the office I would still be thinking whether or not he had good food; Did he reach home safely? Has he slept or not?

Motherhood begins when the child is born and ends when the mother dies -- it is the most beautiful relation created by God.

Being a career woman does not necessarily means that we cannot efficiently raise our children or devote time with them.

Time management is important in life -- it teaches our children to be disciplined.

It helps children build a sense of respect towards their parents, particularly, when they realise that we are doing so much for them and their future.