Working mothers opt flexibility over more pay

Women returning to employment after maternity leave view job flexibility as the greatest barrier to their career advancement.

This is according to an annual survey by workingmums.co.ke, a job website that seeks to connect working mothers with employers.

According to the survey, in which over 2,600 women took part, flexibility of working hours was the most important factor in their return to work, followed closely by the availability of part time hours which 63 percent of the respondents termed is as very important.

Job flexibility was so important to the new mothers that more than half of the respondents admitted they would not mind earning less than what they were earning before they had children as long as they could work flexible hours.

The respondents said flexible working hours contributed to career development.

RE-TRAINING
Getting a suitable job after taking time off to have children has proven to be hard with more new mothers opting to retrain before re-entering the job market.

According to the survey, 40 percent of the respondents could not find suitable jobs after taking a break, with most of them saying they were considering setting up their own business or running a franchise.

Being a new mother is an exciting experience and most new mothers would prefer to remain the primary care giver to their children. However, in the reality of today’s economic climate, some find that they cannot support the new addition to their families and thus have to venture back into the job market.

WHY GO BACK
According to the survey, the biggest reason why new mothers go back to work, with 94 percent of the respondents attesting to it, is that they need money.

Money, however, is not the only reason why new mothers are choosing to go back to work; according to the respondents other emotional factors also play a part.

Some of the respondents said that they would like to return to their work places so as to boost their self-esteem, others admitted to missing some adult company while 59 percent say they just wanted to get out of the house.

Over half of the respondents gave continuing on their set career path as the reason, while an impressive 75 percent admitted they would like to return to work because they enjoyed their jobs.

FAMILY FRIENDLY
When asked what factors made a company family-friendly, the women ranked flexible working hours highest with the availability of part time jobs within a company coming a close second.

Regular work at home and the possibility of taking holidays on short notice to care for sick children were also important to them.

The new mothers stated guilt and worry about travel and logistics, including getting good care givers, as their biggest issues while planning to return to work.

Less than half of the respondents said they thought working mums were portrayed negatively by the media, more than half believed that employers discriminated against women in the current economic climate.