- 3 working moms who balanced WFH with childcare shared their stories with Insider.
- Bridgette Borst Ombres cut her weekly hours down from 70 to 20 to spend more time with her daughter.
- Truly Render followed her dream of opening a bookstore and included her family in the process.
Starting in March 2020, a heavy burden was placed on so many people — teachers, caregivers, essential workers. But perhaps no burden was as heavy as the one placed on working mothers.
In addition to working their full-time jobs, many moms were tasked with coordinating makeshift childcare with daycares closed down. Others found themselves balancing Zoom meetings with their kids' online learning.
How did they manage it? As part of a series on how the pandemic changed people's careers over the last two years, Insider spoke with three mothers about how they had to restructure their work and home lives. They talked about how the pressures of motherhood and hustle culture reached a breaking point, as well as how they decided to make a change, whether by leaving their jobs for another opportunity or shifting around their priorities.
Bridgette Borst Ombres learned to step back
Bridgette Borst Ombres was working 70-hour weeks as the vice president of communications and strategic partnerships at an IT company when the pandemic hit. She also had a side hustle as a PR consultant — and a 2-year-old daughter to raise. Six months into the pandemic, she knew it was time for a change when she saw her daughter imitating her behavior.
"She was repeating what she'd heard me say on so many Zoom calls," she said. "I heard her say to her baby dolls and her stuffed animals, 'Shh, mommy's on a call. Just a little bit longer. Mommy's on a call.'"
She decided to step back from her full-time job and do part-time consulting work as her primary source of income. "This career pivot put into sharp focus that there's more to life than work," she said. "And there's more to me than just my job, and my health and my relationship with my husband and daughter are the most important things in the world to me."
Truly Render made work a more meaningful part of her life and family
Truly Render was working in communications at the University of Michigan when the pandemic hit, but she'd always had a dream to open her own bookstore. After dealing with a family crisis and the burdens of her job, she realized entrepreneurship could provide her the work-life balance she needed. Render and her husband did some research on whether or not it was feasible to start their own business and within six months, they'd signed a lease on Booksweet.
In her former career, Render said she was searching for a work-life balance that proved illusive. "Now, I'm not trying to balance. I'm trying to intentionally carve out space for the life I want to live and make work a meaningful part of that life," she said.
Larisa Ellison found ways to make working from home work
In March 2020, Larisa Ellison was a full-time engineer, pregnant, and the mother of an 8-month-old. In her 932-square-foot home, Ellison and her husband were both working full-time jobs while her mother watched their child.
Between motherhood, pregnancy, her career, and the pandemic, Larisa felt like she wasn't succeeding at anything she was tackling. She also worried about the impact this would have on her long-term career goals.
"I haven't rethought my career path, but I do have a feeling that these are the years to really make a name for myself, and instead, I'm mommy," she said. "I just won't be able to compete."
One bright spot is that she's found she's more efficient at getting everything done. But as many offices reopen, Larissa is looking forward to a hybrid schedule and sending her kids back to daycare. "I think this has opened some people's eyes to what young working parents are dealing with," she said.
Read more: I'm a working mother trying to have a career from home. It feels like I'm succeeding at nothing.