The Secret to Maintaining a Balance between Mother's Duties at Home and at the Office

JAKARTA - In this modern era, the meaning of Mother's Day has expanded far beyond traditional roles such as taking care of the family and doing chores at home. This is evidenced by the increasing number of women who occupy important positions and roles in society.

BPS data in 2024 states that the number of female professional workers in Indonesia is 50%, or up about 2% compared to 2020.

However, being a working mother is not easy. Cecilia Helmina E., M.Psi., Psychologist said, the main challenge of a working mother is balancing work and family time.

"One study from the University of Pennsylvania states that compared to fathers, mothers feel much greater pressure when working because mothers have to work harder to balance work and home affairs, including child care," he said in an official Unicharm release.

Cecilia Helmina E., M.Psi., Psychologist also explained three practical strategies that can be done.

"To get around this, first for home affairs, ask for help from others or professional personnel if needed. In addition, it is best to discuss openly with your spouse and family at home to share tasks so that housework is not neglected," he said.

Then for the matter of taking care of children, maintaining the quality of interaction and relationships is important. The quality of interaction is not determined by how often and how much time with the mother, but the presence of the mother completely when with the child.

"Try not to do office work at home, and get used to chatting for a while while eating together or before the child goes to bed. This habit will make the child feel our presence as a mother," he concluded.