At the end of last year, we had to complete our year-end performance review at work. I thought about the year and everything that I took at the job when I returned from maternity leave. I took the time to bullet point all of my accomplishments this year and how I added value to the team and to the company. It was self-reflective and a great way to see how far i’ve grown since I joined the company in 2018. While all of this helpful and a great development tool, there was so much more that I wanted to say but I really want to know how my employer evaluation will take into consideration all that working moms do.
I really wanted to write about how much work I had taken on this year after returning to work form maternity leave. How much work I take on each day with very little sleep. I wanted to mention how I am doing more work than usual due to the reduced team size, still take on side projects, and deliver timely while completing daily assignments, pump twice a day at the office, and then rush home to spend as much time with my newborn and toddler. I wanted to say that I’m exhausted and I’m over committing myself right now. I am juggling more than others on the team and at the same time, I am still figuring out my day to day schedule between work and home. When a new mom returns to work, there is a great deal of emotion and physical changes that we are adjusting to and then all of a sudden, we are thrust back into the workplace. There is a lot of work that needs to happen regarding this transition.
Now, six months later, we are in the middle of a pandemic and working moms are in an entirely new situation. Due to Covid-19, we are working from home and taking care of children simultaneously. Some new moms are finishing up maternity leave and starting work and now are still home with their baby. Two weeks ago, I had to complete our mid-year performance review at work. It was completely different than usual due to our new normal. We were told to review our adjusted priorities, overall performance, and workload management in light of our current environment. So what does that even mean???
Working moms have been thrust into a new work environment. For many, including myself, there isn’t any separation. We have to juggle so many responsibilities, conference calls, making kid meals, deliver on deadlines, entertain and clean up after the troops, just to name a few. There is no workload management, I end up working ridiculous hours because my priorities are my kids. I may not be taking on additional projects right now but performance hasn’t changed so how are we going to be evaluated? How can employees be rated against one another, especially during this pandemic?
This is a testament to working moms. There is so much others around us do not see or know. We are exhausted, weary eyed, and still get it all done everyday without complaining to push through and do our best work and succeed. I know the struggles all working moms are dealing with and by now, employers should know this too. I’m interested in hearing my evaluation but I’m expecting companies to understand that we are working under very demanding times and for all of this to be taken into consideration!
Companies need to consider this current environment before handing out performance evaluations. Some companies, such as Facebook, will not be giving performance evaluations and will pay out bonuses as though everyone received the highest rating. It would should a great deal of confidence in their employees if other companies followed this lead.
Working moms, you all are amazing and extremely resilient and you are doing a great job.
Thank you for reading,
Andrea
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