Why Working Mothers

13 Reasons Why Working Mothers Are Much More Productive Than People Realize

Juggling a career as well as a family is not easy, but somehow working mothers manage to do it. According to studies by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, they also tend to be highly productive, both at home and the office. In fact, moms with two or more children were found to be the most productive of all (https://research.stlouisfed.org/wp/2014/2014-001.pdf). This is quite interesting as people generally assume that the demands of motherhood make women less productive employees. In fact, studies have shown that there is a so called “motherhood penalty” because of this wrong assumption (http://www.unc.edu/courses/2006spring/geog/203/001/motherhoodpenalty.pdf).

Sometimes pride or a fear of being seen as incapable cause people to avoid asking for support at work, but this can have a detrimental effect on productivity. Working mothers know that often the only way to get something done is getting help and doing this at work comes natural to them.

They Can Apply Their Relationship Skills Effectively At Work
An important part of being a parent is the ability to foster nurturing relationships. Unsurprisingly, this is also a very useful skill to have in the workplace. When people feel that their own needs are taken into account they tend to be more productive and this is something that mothers are very good at. This means that not only are they highly productive themselves, but can also help the productivity of those they work

For some people this is very challenging, but mothers deal with plenty of unreasonable requests from their children and know that often it is better to say no.

They Know All The Tricks For Making It Through A Long Day
Parenting is exhausting, but mothers know that it is not something that can be set aside or left for later. This is why they learn all the tricks for coping even on those stressful days that feel endless. These can range from having something nice to look at, like a plant, on their desk, which is proven to increase productivity, to regularly drinking water, which also improves productivity (http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2014-30837-001/).

They Take On The Hardest Tasks First
Not all tasks at work are pleasant, which can lead to procrastination and a loss of productivity. Mothers are used to dealing with some tasks that are very unpleasant at home, but also know the importance of getting these done. At work this usually means that they will get the hardest tasks done first, so that they can focus their attention on other work without it getting in their