A Working Mom Storms Through Global Voices

Stacy Buchanan of WORLDCompass pinch hits for BTB with a preview of the upcoming broadcast A Working Mom on Global Voices. The documentary airs Sunday, June 19 on the WORLD Channel.

Being a working mom rocks!  We’re the ones chosen to advise policy, lead teams and manage projects. We make our own rules, run our own businesses, and raise our kids.  We’re sharp, whip smart, well adjusted, and reliable.

The Innovator:“Making adjustments to traditional work situations can make a work life balance a little more realistic for working families. I have been asking for some telecommuting hours, but there was no official policy in place for this sort of thing.Human resource departments want to keep good employees, it may be up to you to open this door and walk through it with them. Present your own proposal about how this can be beneficial to both parties.You have to do the research, know what you want and ask for it. With much discussion initiated by me, and definitely some patience, I am now piloting this working situation so my employer can write policy about it.” ~ Liz PW.

The Enforcer:“It takes discipline and structure to work from home and it isn’t a joke to me, and people in my life have learned this the hard way. I kicked a friend out after a 20-minute visit because she arrived at 11:40 though I’d invited her to come over at 9:30 a.m. I’d told her, because the ongoing childcare swap for my Thursdays involves me taking the kids in the morning and the other mom taking them for the afternoon. When Mom #2 arrived right on time for the noon double-daughter pick-up, I told my friend I had to go to work. She looked at me like I had 5 heads. ‘But you work from home!’ But I work. From home.” ~ Amanda R.

The Multi-Tasker:“Work stays at work, and home stays at home, right? Wrong. Home goes to work, and work goes to home. And while at home, and on top of your work, comes your need to spend time with your child. Conundrum? Nah. I went out and bought my son a ‘Thomas The Tank Engine’ laptop computer, and invited him to work by my side. That way, when I do work from home, I still get to spend time with my son." ~ Stacy B.

The Closer:“I’ve been a sales executive for ten years, and I’m good at my job. In the beginning though, I struggled with relationship building. I had a hard time connecting on a personal level and building trust was a challenge. But when I became a mother, I unconsciously owned the space and felt comfortable discussing it and sympathizing with clients I knew were in the same position. The floodgates opened! Identifying myself as a person with great responsibility outside of my job made it easy for others to trust me. I’ve closed more sales in my role as a working mom, than I did before.” ~ Karen C.

The Role Model:“One of my first back-to-work jobs after both kids were in school was at a museum in NYC. I was an assistant to one of the VPs. What we had in common; was kids in NYC private schools. What got me the job was telling her if I could handle the calendars of 2 Brearley girls, I could handle hers. More importantly, I went back to work, and then back to school to pursue better work, because I have daughters. I had a feeling about wanting to be one of their role models as a strong woman with her own life.” ~ Annie S.

The Communicator:“…having a child of my own has made me care even more for the children I work with professionally. I am better now at seeing the whole child. I also think I understand parents more now that I am a parent and this makes communication (in general) easier.” ~ Lauren R. 

Want to learn more? Tune in to a the WORLD channel on Sunday, June 19^th to watch the Global Voices premiere of Working Mom, and be sure to share your own stories below.