According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are around 23.5 million employed women with children under the age of 18, and nearly two-thirds of those moms work full time and year-round. Moms have always been synonymous with superheroes, especially when you consider the multitude of things they are able to juggle in 1 day. This has only escalated exponentially with the pandemic, as moms have had to take on even more roles. From ensuring the kids still get their schooling to maintaining the household all the way to professional duties, moms have had to figure out how to balance the onslaught of unexpected extraneous tasks while still working from home.
This ability to execute multiple responsibilities efficiently and effectively is especially applicable in the remote working world, fleshing out an extremely well-rounded contract employee. Let’s take a look at the top reasons moms should be prime candidates when it comes to your business’s remote worker needs.
Magnificent Multitaskers
Moms are great not only at the art of multitasking but also with navigating nuances, as there is always something unexpected around the corner with children. A typical day in the life of a mom could be driving the neighborhood carpool, preparing dinner for the family, ensuring the dog gets a long walk, and cleaning the household, all while maintaining a 9–5 job. Moms also have to deal with nuances such as their partner being sick and one of the kids needing to be picked up from school early.
A company’s needs and priorities often fluctuate hourly, and someone who can take on multiple roles is needed. These efforts might even require tasks the person wasn’t necessarily hired for. Because the line between home and work has been blurred, it is not uncommon for people, especially moms, working from home to have to juggle multiple obligations at once. These tasks are expected to be completed in addition to deadlines that need to be reached by the business’s end of day. Moms are especially equipped for this because an average day in the life of a mother already looks like this.
Independence and Time Management
Moms are quick on their feet and usually have to figure things out on their own. This makes for a good independent worker because moms are already used to using or finding resources to solve a problem. Moms seek flexibility in their work so they can have more freedom to be present for their kids and family, which makes them extremely motivated to make a remote work opportunity successful for both themselves and the company.
Moms balance the daily tasks of running a household, taking care of kids, and ensuring the rotating parts of everyone’s daily life are accounted for. Thus, time management becomes an essential skill for moms just to conquer the day to day. Their capacity for management is well-versed and ever-evolving because most times, they don’t have any choice but to use their time wisely.
Organizational Skills for Ultimate Problem-Solving
Moms typically take the helm when it comes to planning and executing for the household—whether that is coordinating how to get everyone to their extracurriculars on time or planning the upcoming family vacation. Moms have to find the most efficient way to slay multiple dragons every day, manifesting a strategy to make everything work for each member of the family. They do this while getting everything done they personally need to accomplish. Rolling with the punches, moms are used to remaining flexible when things fall out of line, staying organized and level-headed despite the unexpected.
This can specifically apply to remote work because in this disparate digital landscape, things often happen and change on the fly. Businesses need people who not only can plan ahead but also know how to plan for unforeseen circumstances and strategize a margin for error accordingly. Moms do this just by juggling multiple kids with multiple sets of needs and requirements. This is necessary now more than ever because the technology we are now dependent on to work is often unpredictable.
People Management
Moms have to deal with many personality types and different levels of maturity when raising a household, which makes them pre-programmed for conflict management and dispute resolution.
There is a huge influx of online communication, from which a lot of frustration has stemmed. Only 1 out of 26 customers complain when they are unsatisfied, and the rest churn (churn being the measure of a company’s loss in subscribers for a given period of time) without saying anything. The absence of negative feedback isn’t a sign of satisfaction, however; 91% of unsatisfied customers who don’t complain simply leave.
Moms have the patience to handle customer complaints at all levels of your marketing channel and offer win-win resolutions for all. Having somebody who is already used to dealing with sometimes conflicting temperaments will make customer service and relations your company’s strong suit.
Moms have a lot of significant qualities that apply to remote work. Many of their accomplishments come from the fact that most moms are continuous learners because having children isn’t a perfect equation. With a willingness to learn and the go-getter attitude to take on anything a remote workday might throw their way, moms are a strong choice for any company’s remote worker needs.
Lesley Pyle is the founder of HireMyMom.com, a boutique service connecting small businesses with virtual professionals across the country. She began her work-at-home career in 1996 with the launch of her first website, Home-Based Working Moms. Pyle was named one of the “50 Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire Us” by Self-Made magazine and has been featured in numerous publications, including Forbes, Entrepreneur, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and many others. Follow Lesley on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.