Photo credit: Good Housekeeping
Before I became a mom, I was scrolling Netflix and came across the show Workin’ Moms.
While the punchy imagery and witty caption caught my attention, I remember thinking I’m not a working mom, so I can’t relate, and continued scrolling.
Fast forward a few months, and I found myself pregnant and wondering what my future held for me as a soon-to-be working mom. So during one of my next Netflix binges, I found myself face to face with Workin’ Moms, and I was ready to dive in.
Workin Moms tells the stories of friends and acquaintances who meet in a baby group. Jenny, Frankie, Anne, and Kate navigate tough situations like spilling breastmilk at work, navigating forever-changed romantic relationships with their partners, and dealing with rebellious behavior in adolescent years (If you're a girl mom terrified of Alice, you're not alone.)
Five seasons, one baby, six weeks of maternity leave, and six months of breastfeeding later, I’ve yet to find a show as honest, funny, and relatable as Workin’ Moms.
The depiction of motherhood, work, and the eternal balance between them both as told through authentic stories will guarantee to have any mother nodding their head in agreement.
While I have a love-hate relationship with the term working mom, I couldn’t help but think about how many things the show got right.
Whether you’re a fan of the show, it’s on your watch list, or you’re just working mom-curious, here are eight sentiments that Workin’ Moms got right.
1. You Can Love Your Child and Love Your Work at the Same Time.
It goes without saying that I love my son, but I’m convinced I’d go stir-crazy if I didn’t have the mental stimulation offered by my day job. While my relationship with work and hustling has shifted since becoming a mom, I still love my work.
I’m not sure at what point society decided women need to choose between their children and work, but Workin’ Moms gave me the validation that there are other women out there who also continue to love what they do post-baby.
When the main character Kate goes back to work after maternity leave, she experiences this first hand. She feels pulled to stay late at the office and miss bathtime because she’s excited to be back at work.
Cue the mom guilt.
Even though it’s inevitable that these moments will happen, know that you can love your work and your child. Both realities can be true at the same time.
2. Being a Mom Is Really Hard
It doesn’t matter if you’re a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, a mom on maternity leave, a chosen mom, or any mom in-between; motherhood is hard. Is it worth it? Yes, absolutely.
But while the highs are high, the lows can be really, really low. Workin’ Moms confronts the difficulties that parents face at varying stages of parenthood.
From discussing breastfeeding vs. formula for infants to adjusting to becoming a mom of two to dealing with teenage conflicts, the show talks about the taboo topics and breathes a breath of fresh air into the hard realities that mothers face every day.
3. Your Support System Is Everything
If you’re fortunate to have an equal partner in parenthood, you understand how crucial support is to maintain your sanity and to be the best person you can be.
If you have a support system of family and friends who have your back and are there to lend a helping hand or a listening ear, be sure to hold them near and dear to your heart.
If you have a great team who understands the trials of trials and tribulations of raising children, well then, you may have hit the work lottery. Having people you can rely on and turn to in every facet of your life, especially during the early years of motherhood, is essential to survival.
Motherhood can be overwhelming. Work can be overwhelming. Add them together, and it can be a recipe for disaster. Workin’ Moms taught me not to be afraid to ask for help. The show depicted one character’s experience with postpartum depression and how it affected all of the areas of her life. But because she was able to turn to her support system, she was able to get the help she needed.
4. Motherhood Is a Part of Your Identity, Not Your Entire Identity.
When I became a mom, I struggled with the shift in my identity. I was now a little human’s mother, and it felt like it consumed my being, especially in the early days.
I was no longer a friend or an employee or a writer, I was a milk-producing, life-sustaining, exhausted stereotype of a mom.
It took me longer than I’d ever expected to sort out my emotions and realize that motherhood is a part of who I am, not everything I am.
Some people love motherhood and wrapping their identity in it. I’m not one of those people. While family always comes first, Workin’ Moms taught me that it’s okay to want to be more than a mom.
The women on the show are ambitious and career-driven, and it gave me the permission to not feel guilty for wanting to pursue my career goals while also raising children.
5. It’s Okay if You’re Not Solely Fulfilled by Motherhood.
There are many areas of life that are fulfilling, like work, hobbies, volunteering, and keeping a little human alive. Once you become a mother, it’s okay if the duties of motherhood don’t exclusively provide you fulfillment.
You’re not in the wrong for wanting to do and try other things. In fact, it makes you human that you want to do work and have fun in ways that fill your own cup.
Work allows me to be my best self. As exhausted as I was when my maternity leave was coming to a close, I was excited to get back to my 9 to 5. It’s my own personal belief that I’d be an awful stay-at-home mom.
I crave the routine, structure, and fulfillment a career provides me. Seeing Kate in Workin’ Moms struggle as a stay-at-home mom during a forced hiatus from work gave me the reassurance I needed that I’m not the only mother in the world who needs her career to operate at her full potential.
6. Not All Workplaces Are Created Equal
This is true when it comes to the work you do, the culture that surrounds you, and the support you’re given. It’s become even more apparent recently that not all companies support parents in the same way.
Parental leave policies vastly differ from company to company. So do lactation rooms for nursing women when they return to work after maternity leave. Workin’ Moms tackles this disparity head-on in the pilot when two women return to the office.
One is told she can use her breast pump in her office, but because her office is made of glass walls, she is forced to use the bathroom to pump. Another character is told to use their office breakroom and just lock the door; the same breakroom that is open to all employees.
In today’s day and age, it’s crucial to a woman's well-being at work to have an understanding of how they’ll be supported if they have a family or decide to start one when considering what company they want to join.
Employees are now speaking out and providing transparency around the benefits they receive, which is putting the ball in the company’s court to make their workplaces accommodating for all.
7. It’s Okay to Want More, and It’s Also Okay to Not
Being a mom and a professional are not mutually exclusive. You can spend your weekends at tee-ball games and start your Monday morning proving why you’re worthy of a promotion.
You don’t have to feel guilty for craving career satisfaction or for not sacrificing every ounce of your being to your children. But it’s also okay if all you want to do is stay at home with your kids on a Wednesday night instead of attending a networking event or take a family vacation instead of putting in overtime at work.
We all navigate through different seasons of life, and what we want and need will look different as we do.
As the women on Workin’ Moms maneuver through motherhood, career, and life over the course of the show, I’m constantly reminded that at the end of the day, we’re all human. We all want what we want when we want it, and we don’t need to justify or explain that to anyone.
8. Putting Yourself First Is and Should Be an Option
The main characters of Workin’ Moms show first-hand how to put themselves, their careers, and their well-being first. Kate started her own business while also learning how to adjust from one child to two. Anne chose her mental health when she decided not to have a third child.
Frankie has the strength to attend therapy to cope with her postpartum depression. While motherhood often requires sacrifice at different points in our lives for different reasons, that doesn’t mean that we should never put ourselves first.
It’s next to impossible to help someone else when we can’t help ourselves first. If you’re a mom, remember, you are important, and you are a priority.
