Coworkers. Supervisors. Every working woman has had a great job, a great supervisor, a set of great coworkers and every working woman has had the opposite. How do you get along with them when they are not nice or fair to you? How do you stand out and move up? How do you balance work with all your other responsibilities?
Women now make up most of the workforce in America according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, women still suffer from lower pay and often struggle to figure out how their children will be cared for while they work. A working woman also usually has more responsibilities than her male counterpart. Trying to stand out and make a name for herself while being a good wife and mom can feel like walking a tightrope for many women. So, how does one manage and come out on top?
I want to talk to Three Different Groups of Women:
Group 1: You love your work and you just need to find balance. You are busy all the time and feel guilty when you come home late. You want more time to spend with your loved ones.
Group 2: You don’t love your work and you are trying to figure out what you should be doing. You are bored or you feel stuck because this is all you have ever done.
Group 3: You are in a career you like but you feel like you don’t fit in. Your coworker or supervisor is not the nicest and you don’t know how to move up or stand out.
Each group is facing different challenges and need to answer the following questions to figure out their next move:
- Why am I there? This is the most important question to answer. I know you have bills to pay and that is at the forefront of your mind. However, is this work something that you are passionate about or something that you are good at? Or is it just a paycheck? A job is something you do to earn a paycheck. A career is something you have that is tied into your long-term goals and you should really like or love it. How you see your work affects your attitude; and attitude affects your altitude. They are all tied together. What is the goal of this job? What does the job bring to my life? Is there something else I would rather be doing to make money to pay my bills and support my family? If so, is it tangible?
- What can I change? Do I need a daily schedule to help me balance my work/home life? Do you I need to ask to get involved in different projects to expand my horizon? Do I need to tweak my resume and look for other jobs? Do I need a certification for a new skill to help me stand out or move up? Do I need to be reminded that my coworkers do not have to become my friends? Do I need to find motivational quotes/ readings to help me deal with difficult people?
- Where do I want to be? What are my long-term goals? Does this work fit into those goals? Does this work support my personal development and growth? If what you are currently doing is not leading you to where you want to be, it is hard to be super motivated and innovative at it.
I have been in all three groups of women listed above. I have loved my work but had evening meetings that brought me home late on my child’s birthday. I have hated my work and been bored with the routine of it all. I have had a bad supervisor or two. I have also been in a place where I saw no opportunities to move up. Once I answered the three questions – Why am I there? What can I change? Where do I want to be? – I made some moves and decisions. Either to tweak my resume and move to a new venture, or to ask for some cross training, or to better schedule my day to make sure I spent quality time with those most important to me.
The life of a working woman is not easy; however, it can have balance and be rewarding. You can have healthy relationships with your coworkers. You can stand out and move up in a male dominated place. It just takes some decluttering to know what is important to you and some organization to get to where you want to be. Bosa Sebele says, “There is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise.”