Supporting working mums better

All mums work. Raising children is both rewarding and incredibly hard work.

The list of tasks is endless and includes cooking, cleaning, bathing, giving lifts, helping with homework, and numerous other precious moments involving listening, reading, teaching and talking to our children about God.

In addition though, many mums also have paid jobs. There has been a changing demographic of mothers in the workplace over the last generation. In the Republic of Ireland a marriage bar was in place until 1973, meaning that women had to leave their jobs in the public (and some areas of the private) sector once married.

The proposed care amendment of the Irish Constitution, which would have deleted the articles referring to the life of women in the home with the state endeavouring to ensure mothers should not have to go out to work, was defeated in a referendum in March 2024. Despite this, many mums in both Ireland and the UK are in the workforce. In the UK over 73% of mothers with dependent children are working compared with 63% in 2010.^[1]

These figures are reflected in our churches where many mums are engaged in paid work. Women’s occupations take many forms. It may be a job outside the home, commonly known on social media as WOHM (working outside the home mum) or a job working at home (known as WAHM) or a combination of both (hybrid working). Women in our churches may be employed or self-employed, in full or part-time roles.

Benefits for mums in the workplace

Mums benefit hugely from being in the workplace. Working with a great team, using their talents, completing a crucial project and becoming increasingly skilled in their area of work brings satisfaction. There are also many benefits for their home and wider society including earning an income to provide for their families and to give to God’s work, bringing a mum’s perspective into the workplace and being a role model for their children when they start work. Women in the Bible worked too, including midwives Shiphrah and Puah from the book of Exodus. In the book of Acts, Lydia was a tradeswoman, Priscilla was a tentmaker and Tabitha (Dorcas) was a seamstress, and working mums can take inspiration from these women.

God has also entrusted mums with the care and nurture of their cherished children. Raising children is a vital role given by God and the Bible places an important emphasis on being a mum. It has such high value and we seek God’s help to raise our children to know and love Him.

Challenges for mums in the workplace

Working mums, though, can often experience challenges in both their home and work lives. Some mums may love their jobs and want to work, some may have to work, or for many it’s a combination of both, with many feeling torn between their personal and work lives. One common challenge is a lack of time to meet all the demands. Mums are experts at multi-tasking; however rushing and constant clock-watching until the next pick-up is exhausting, and physical and mental fatigue is common. Going to work after being up with young children during the night is difficult to endure and the inability to “switch off ” from the constant thought of having to get another job done is draining. Working mums know particularly well how difficult it is to find a work-life balance with so many competing demands, and the rise of remote working can make switching off from work to attend to home life particularly difficult.

Mums have to tackle a huge diversity of tasks across all areas of their lives. Working mums are coping with constant additional unplanned daily demands from all areas of life making it tricky to know what to address first. It is hard meeting all the needs at home, even when life is going smoothly. When difficulties arise and life doesn’t go to plan, for example when a child is sick, coping can often feel overwhelming.

In addition our job is a major priority. We’re being paid to work, and God wants us to work hard in whatever role we currently have (Col. 3:23). It is only right that our work lives are a priority for our time and attention, but so often it can be another item to squeeze into our already full week, rather than a priority in its own right.

Workplace demands can be stressful, including deadlines and numerous emails to respond to. Job descriptions are often broad and varied and there can be many tasks to routinely prioritise in addition to other daily items that arise and have to be attended to. We may think we have our work tasks planned and then another request for a report arrives and we have to adapt to fit it in. When colleagues are on leave or there are vacancies in the department, workloads may increase to cover these gaps. Deadlines can creep up quickly at work too, so the project we thought we had plenty of time to complete is now suddenly due next week.

Workplace priorities don’t just involve clearing tasks that need to be completed though. It also involves completing each project to a high standard, developing our roles, being a strong team player, providing a quality service to clients and possibly travelling with work. Many work-related tasks require a huge amount of preparation and follow-up, often requiring more time than we had initially allocated.

Working mums want to have time for the many good gifts God has provided, including their husband, children, extended family, friends, church, home and work, but it is difficult to attend to all the priorities. It can also be that, due to work commitments, working mums may be unable to attend midweek Bible studies or toddler groups, possibly causing them to feel less involved in our church communities. They may be lacking time to invest in friendships, volunteer at church or have in-depth quiet times. Many working mums may struggle to stay close to Jesus as they address challenges both at home and at work. Sundays may not be easy as they face into the week ahead knowing what has to be completed. It would be great, though, if Sundays could be a day of refreshment and encouragement for working mums in our churches. Thankfully the church can be a huge support to working mums as we acknowledge the changing demographic of women in the workplace, with more mums working compared with previous generations.

How can churches help working mums?

Churches can be supportive by being aware of the different roles and responsibilities of working mums in their congregations. We can remind them of the difference they are making in their home and work lives as both roles are valuable to God, family and society. Many women in our churches may be a long way from their own parents and extended families, but we can encourage them by asking how their jobs are going and seeking to gain more of an insight into their working week. We can listen to them and pray for their needs, especially during particularly busy periods like school holidays. The long summer holidays can be a stressful time for mums working over the summer. Pursuing friendships with other Christian mums in our workplaces can also be a great source of blessing.

I have been blessed by those in my church family who have listened and prayed for me and my family. Working mums need strong relationships in the church, even if having the time to attend church events is difficult. Together we can support working mums, and all women in our churches, to grow in their faith and experience daily joy in their lives despite navigating the challenges of both home and work life.

This article was first published in the Presbyterian Herald.

^{[1] Childcare and early years survey of parents. Reporting year 2022.}

See response to this article from en readers here: Housework and the husband's role.