Lessons from Parenthood That Can Help Women in the Workplace
Parenthood teaches you many skills. Any parent knows it’s not an easy job, and it requires a lot of learning, communication and patience. For working parents, these lessons can also help you outside the home. Here are some parenting skills that can help you in your professional workplace.
1. Patience
Patience — it’s a virtue. You practice patience while in line at a drive-through, the doctor’s office and in many other areas of your daily life. However, kids can push your limits until you are at a breaking point. You know what this entails if you’ve ever had a toddler in your home, and you will likely have a new found respect for patient people after you’ve endured your child’s ‘terrible twos’.
Patience can be challenging but can also reduce stress and help you avoid conflict. It is essential in your career, as it is unprofessional to act on impulse. You must hold your composure and react in ways that express grace and resilience when things don’t go your way. Teaching your toddler patience will help you practice it as well.
2. Communication
One of the first things you teach your children is how to communicate more effectively. This is also vital to your career because expressing yourself professionally and clearly helps resolve issues quickly.
Listening is a crucial part of communication. You must learn to listen to your kids from a very young age, like distinguishing between cries that mean they’re hungry or need to be changed. This can apply to your workplace because clients, employees and even bosses sometimes don’t know how to tell you what they want.
Effective communication ensures employees know the terms and conditions and boosts employee morale. At times, you may have to guess and adjust accordingly. Trial and error are effective in raising children and encouraged in the workplace. Failure can cease to exist if you keep trying.
3. Rest
While many parents don’t get enough rest, you probably at least know how important it is. Think about those blissful moments when your child is napping and you finally get to sit down and rest your own eyes.
Typical work culture will tell you that you need to hustle and work nonstop to get ahead, but that’s not always the case. Taking vacations or breaks from work can actually boost your productivity and reduce your stress – much like time away from your kids. When you’re feeling overworked at the office, don’t feel guilty about taking a break. As a parent, you know better than anyone how valuable rest can be.
4. Trust
Building trust with children starts at an early age. When they are toddlers, you begin trusting them with small tasks like only having one cookie before dinner or tidying up their toys. This trust flourishes and grows as they age, similar to how it develops with co-workers and employees as they become more established within the company.
Knowing how to gain trust is as important as giving it. It goes both ways and is a vital skill for an employee that leads to strong self-esteem and resilience. Being dependable and on time can make the difference between an average and an excellent worker.
Lessons from Parenthood
Becoming a parent teaches you a lot. It makes you stronger in ways you may not even realize. Take some time to reflect on these strengths and find empowerment through them. Parenting is one of the toughest jobs, so it’s sure to prepare you for anything in your workplace.
Cora Gold is the Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine, Revivalist. She has a passion for writing about ways to live a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life, especially for new moms.
