How Working Moms Can Flip the Script on COVID at Work

The pandemic didn’t do moms any favors, but they can use it to their advantage.

Working parents have gained an entirely new skill set in the pandemic—one that should make them even better employees.

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In January 2020, I received the biggest news of my career: I’d been elevated to lead Resource Management for my company, a top 10 CPA advisory firm. This was a goal I’d worked toward tirelessly for years and it seemed unreal when it finally came to fruition. This was going to be my time.

Four weeks later, I learned I was pregnant for the second time. I recall somewhat laughably now, thinking that navigating an infant and a toddler as I took on my new role would be the most difficult challenge I’d face professionally.

When the pandemic first hit, I had no idea the impact the next 18 months would have on me, both professionally and personally. But coming out of the fog, I can say with a straight face that I wouldn’t change a thing. COVID fast-tracked my career in ways I’m still discovering. Yes, the dark cloud of this pandemic brought challenges and tragedies that can’t be undermined—but it also created opportunities for working parents to develop critical leadership attributes at an accelerated pace.

Those who parented through the pandemic have been through an incredibly humbling experience. A departure from striving to be the Pinterest-perfect mom, parenthood culture now feeds off of poking fun at failures and making light of challenges—and we know there’s no shortage of those.

There’s a sense of community in the acknowledgement of the shared experience during a time when social interaction was non-existent. The “I can do it all” mom has evolved into the far more relatable woman who unapologetically admits, “I’m a mom, I cannot do it all. And by the way, I’m not ashamed of it!” The power in that level of self-awareness is invigorating.

So, how does that translate into the workplace? Working parents have learned how to quickly assess a situation and share their capabilities openly. If something isn’t realistic, they’ll tell you up front. That type of authenticity was harder to come by pre-pandemic when the norm was to keep up appearances at any cost. Parents on back-to-back Zoom calls with kiddos running amok in the background simply don’t have time to keep up a façade. They’re setting the example of asking for help when they need it and demonstrating vulnerability. What had historically been viewed as a weakness is, in reality, a sign of strength and true leadership.

Any parent who worked remotely through the pandemic can share of a time or two when their children created a challenge in the midst of an important presentation or meeting. But what they usually don’t give themselves credit for is the fact that they didn’t falter. With every interruption, distraction or frustration, these parents became a bit more resilient. Speaking from experience, once your 2-year-old empties an entire container of sprinkles, paints a mural on your white wall, or attempts to change his own diaper while you’re presenting to an audience of over 800 people, you’re unlikely to be rattled by anything else. The ability to keep your head in the game is an art form us parents have mastered, and it's an incredibly desirable quality in almost any field.

Think about the birthday caravan parades that became popular in the COVID era. I don’t know who first came up with it, but I’m certain it was a parent! They invented a creative way to celebrate their little one when circumstances made traditional methods impossible. That’s the ingenuity of this group of parents—we were thrown into an impossible situation and still found a way against all odds to make it happen. Taking that idea and translating it into the workplace, the implications of a business leader with that mindset are tremendous. This is someone who knows how to get creative to solve complex problems, motivate others and keep them engaged. They’ll undoubtedly be able to drive retention within their organizations.

Working parents have had to navigate countless difficult decisions, all of great importance. Things like, Should I let my parents meet my newborn? Will I be able to do my job if I don’t send my child to daycare and risk exposure to the virus? Which family members should I quarantine with?

Christine Robinson is the Resource Management Leader for Baker Tilly, a top 10 CPA advisory firm.

Courtesy Christine Robinson

In my immediate bubble, I had more than one immunocompromised individual while I myself was pregnant during a spike in local cases. We had to make incredibly hard choices about how to live our lives—but my experience was not unique. All working parents had to take calculated risks during the pandemic while under an enormous amount of stress.

We didn’t have the luxury of stability or certainty, whether that was related to the ever-evolving guidance on the virus or with our children who were dealing with their own reactions to lack of routine. Those things combined created a truly challenging set of circumstances with no defined end date and certainly no breaks. Parents simply weren’t expending energy on things that weren’t in line with what we defined as priorities. In the context of work, that line of thinking has a hugely positive impact on both productivity and efficiency. Having developed this new muscle memory, working parents are incredibly well positioned to be decisive leaders.

The seemingly endless hamster wheel of physical, cognitive and emotional exhaustion all happening simultaneously was brutal; there’s no denying that. But while we push through the home stretch, let’s not lose sight of the incredible tools working parents have gained. What we’ll be left with when this group emerges from the trenches is an army of well-trained soldiers who are masters of resilience, highly skilled in innovative thinking and decisiveness under immense pressure; these are leaders who know their limits and own them. We’re ready for any challenge that comes our way and we’ll come out on top because after the pandemic, we don’t know any other way. These are the people I want in my organization when that time comes.

Christine Robinson is the Resource Management Leader for Baker Tilly, a top 10 CPA Advisory firm. A working mom, Christine is passionate about celebrating diversity and empowering working parents. She has been featured on podcasts, LinkedInLive events, and on college campuses to share insights on the working parenthood experience and how skills transfer across various settings.