We often see tiny tots crying when their mothers leave for work. A study conducted by University of Washington has put forth that working mothers who possess supermom attributes seem to exhibit more depression than those who believe that balancing home and work is deemed to be difficult.
The study incorporated 1,600 women almost 40 years of age who were married in the United States. This analysis is a part of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth which constituted both working mothers as well as homemakers.
“Women are sold a story that they can do it all, but most workplaces are still designed for employees without child-care responsibilities. In reality, juggling home and work lives requires some sacrifice, she said, such as cutting back on work hours and getting husbands to help more. You can happily combine child rearing and a career, if you’re willing to let some things slide,” commented Katrina Leupp, a University of Washington sociology graduate student who led the study.
Participants of the study were made to answer many questions and their opinions on various stances were noted. These included statements such as women staying at home with their kids are the happiest or a working mother doesn’t have time to fulfill her household duties and so on. Eventually, when these moms touched 40 years of age, their depression levels were calculated. As per the outcomes, stay-at-home mommies seemingly experienced more depression than working mothers. Amidst the latter, those who adopted supermom beliefs that work and home can be simultaneously managed appeared to face more chances of depression unlike moms who had realistic expectations.
Leupp says that employed women who understand that they may not be able to do it all and consider that balancing job and family responsibilities ought to be challenging were less likely to encounter depressive symptoms. These are mothers who sometimes leave their work early to drop their kids back home and make tradeoffs. Those in the supermom clan may feel depressed owing to the division of household labor and anger over not being able to attain their balance of employment and family without tradeoffs. Leupp adds that dads will apparently not forgo their working hours for taking care of children. She concludes that employment is supposedly good for wellness of women. However, they need to understand that they can’t do everything as per their wish.
The study was presented on August 21 at the American Sociological Association’s annual meeting in Las Vegas.