work life balance

Stand and Deliver: Infusing Humanism into Our Workplace with Jennie Byrne, MD, PhD

“Everyone thinks the future of work is about better technology, but ... I am convinced that the future of work is about being a better human.”

The Unsolvable Mystery of What Women Want. Hint: It Starts with an R and ends with ESPECT

According to Gallup, the number one concern women looking for work have—work-life balance, even over salary—was also a primary driver of women leaving the workforce at the start of the pandemic, whether by choice or by fiat. Women, faced with the challenge of trying to simultaneously do their jobs, care for their homebound families, homeschool their kids, and all the myriad other responsibilities that fall primarily on women, suffered termination, burnout, downsizing, or “gentle encouragement” t

Work-Life Balance Looks Different for Everyone - Here’s How to Define Yours

Over the years, there’s been a lot of debate over whether work-life balance is possible. And new and related terms and concepts continue to pop up each year, including work-life integration, which focuses less on compartmentalization and more on cohesion, and more recently, work-life negotiation, which focuses more on advocating for your needs at work and home...

Being a Mom, an Entrepreneur, & a Professor at Columbia University

Hello, my name is Alice Min Soo Chun, CEO and Founder of Solight Design. I am the original inventor of the solar inflatable light and solar light assembly called the SolarPuff, which is the primary product for Solight Designs.

I Believe That Mommies Can (And Should) Be Millionaires Too

What if you could make your own dreams of success come true AND be a loving mother to your children all at the same time?Yes, it's not easy. Balancing a career and motherhood is a challenge for many modern-day females. Moms aren't only expected to be caretakers of their children; they continue to be subjected to gender stereotypes, and they take on so much unpaid labor while also being under a lot of pressure to succeed and be able to provide for their families. But it's not impossible. Let me t

Here’s What I’ve Learned as a Woman Winery Owner

In my career, I'm often asked what it's like to own and operate a winery as a woman. When you look at the numbers, I can see why this question arises. Nationwide, women only make up 8% of winemakers. While 47% of male winemakers, only 4% of women do. Winemaking being a male-dominated industry bears no influence on what I love about it.That said, if there were two pieces of advice I could give to any woman thinking of becoming a winemaker, the first would be to never work a harvest while pregnant

Please Don't Tell Me to Put on a Mud Mask

It's Week 21 here, and I am still here — sitting in my corner bedroom, typing away at a makeshift desk. And my children are here, too. Nope, they haven't gone anywhere. Can't you hear that howling in the background as I smile into the webcam and conduct our meeting, pretending everything is ok, and that I have smoothly embraced my new normal?That howling, the wailing, the laughing, the shouting, the screaming — that's the soundtrack of the life of a working mother, now available for all of you t

Working From Home While Parenting in a Pandemic. The Juggle is Real.

had just finished putting my toddler down for a nap when my 3-month-old cried out from the next room — hungry. Again. As I slowly backed out of the room so as not to disturb the nap that took five diligently-read books to achieve, I glanced at my watch — just five minutes to spare before my scheduled Zoom meeting.For working parents, the juggle is real has become our rallying call.

Communicating with Employees Will Be Key for Successful Remote Work Post-COVID

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies were resistant to implementing remote work for a variety of reasons such as concerns about technology and infrastructure, a lack of trust that employees would get their jobs done, the longstanding (and understandable) bias in favor of face-to-face interactions, or some combination of these factors. However, not only has the COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies to switch to remote work despite their reservations, it's clear at this point that it's g

Why My Morning Routine Is My Secret Weapon As A Wellness CEO and Mama

I'll admit — I'm not naturally a morning person and if I didn't have a family to take care of, my morning routine would probably look something like this: wake up when I feel like it, shower (alone without kids asking for breakfast), take supplements, drink coffee, go for a walk, eat breakfast, then start working. However, my current phase of life doesn't allow me to have such a leisurely morning routine.

Please Don’t Interrupt My Work-Life Balance

I remember when I was growing up, my dad would read the local newspaper in the morning with his cup of tea, and a plate of runny eggs and toast. In the evenings, he came home by 6pm and would watch the CBS evening news and help us with our math homework. On some nights when he had dinner meetings, he would come home with leftovers for the next day. But then he started traveling more globally as we grew up, and he would only be back home in a handful of days

Five Vital Lessons On How To Thrive During Quarantine From A CEO And Mom To Five Girls

My top strength is "discipline," which means when my family's schedules were thrown into upheaval during quarantine, I immediately got to work organizing my daughters' maze of online school schedules and modifying my own schedule to keep as much order as possible.

Momtors: The New Wave of Mentors Helping New Moms Transition Back Into Careers

New parents re-entering the workforce are often juggling the tangible realities of daycare logistics, sleep deprivation, and a cascade of overwhelming work. No matter how parents build their family, they often struggle with the guilt of being split between home and work and not feeling exceptionally successful in either place.

Why It’s Important To Be Intentional With Your Calendar

Time is our most valuable resource, yet how many of us secure our calendars in the same way we secure our homes? You wouldn't leave home without locking the door, but we often leave the house without knowing exactly what we're doing that day and when.

How Coronavirus Helped Me Take Back My Weekends

Since starting my entrepreneurship journey almost three years ago, running my own PR agency from all over the world, my weekends disappeared. I replaced brunch and lazy mornings with crafting media pitches, strategies, and research. Sure, I enjoyed my weekends and did fun things, but work was still a priority. When you are a business owner, the stakes are high, and taking a full day off (let alone two) seems wrong. There is always something more that can be done and life becomes an endless cycle

How I'm Maintaining My Work-life Balance In Quarantine

The day I started writing this essay, I got in a spat with my husband while I was baking brownies with the kids. He didn't understand why I had doubled the recipe. Despite the fact that I announced this fact multiple times, because I wanted to make them thick like I did as a child. As soon as I poured the batter into the pan, he came in and said, "Oooh, that's going to be so thick! Shouldn't we split the batter into two pans?" I saw red; I lashed out on him telling him how dare he question my no

How I’ve Created A "New Normal" During The Coronavirus For My Company, My Son, And Me

The coronavirus outbreak has required everyone to abruptly adjust their entire lives with little to no warning or time for preparation. Schools across the country closed in a matter of days, many businesses were suddenly forced to work from home until further notice, and individuals everywhere were left wondering how to get the basic daily necessities. As the founder and CEO of a company as well as the mother to a young boy, creating and sticking to this new normal has been quite an adjustment a

Why I'm Now Trying To Work As Little As Possible

Why Working Moms Should Stop Feeling Guilty

This Multifaceted Entrepreneur Says The Key To Balancing Her Work Is Not To Balance But To Juggle