2023-05-10 22:00:14
- Working mothers face various challenges in order to reconcile their work life with motherhood that put their mental health at risk.
- Organizations such as UNICEF emphasize that caring for working mothers not only helps reduce their levels of stress or anxiety but also promotes gender equality at work.
- Companies that promote prevention and mental health care programs and policies have great benefits.
In Mexico, 7 out of 10 working women are mothers, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). This is a significant percentage of the workforce, but given the lack of work-life balance and mental health care programs, many of them may present high levels of stress, anxiety or burnout.
Progress achieved and tasks to be carried out
Before this panorama, Yunue Cardenaswho is the coordinator of the Hub Affor Health, points out that these effects are not derived from maternity itself, but from the lack of social and working conditions to exercise it.
“In Mexico, positive steps have been taken that allow them to reconcile their professional life with motherhood. For example, more flexible hours, paternity leave, lactation centers at work, etc. However, there are still important challenges, especially with regard to care and prevention of psychosocial risks at work, both for women with children and for those who do not”.
In the country, more and more companies incorporate programs of occupational mental health as well as care campaigns for its collaborators, since they have obtained benefits such as improved productivity, greater achievement of goals, more proactive collaborators, attraction and retention of key talent, greater willingness and effectiveness in training programs, among others.
In the framework of Mother’s Day, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) He refers that these programs that promote closeness, child care for working mothers have various impacts, among them:
- Improve stress and anxiety levels in working mothers.
- By providing conditions that increase the probability of breastfeeding, improvements are seen in the health and cognitive development of children.
- Reduces the chances of postpartum depression.
- Decrease in infant mortality and increase in immunization rates.
- They support gender equality at work.
On the other hand, the expert occupational mental health She adds that mothers develop various skills that have great potential in the workplace. For example: negotiation skills, teamwork, leadership, empathy, time management, to name a few.
“In general, taking care of the mental health of employees multiplies the benefits for everyone. Companies are always looking for the best talent and can have them in their ranks, but without the right conditions, employees cannot give the best of themselves and it is the companies’ job to ensure that they have these conditions”.
Recommendations for companies to care for and promote mental health in working mothers
- Promote flexible hours.
- Provide maternity and paternity leave.
- Promote the creation of spaces such as nurseries.
- Prepare optimal, hygienic and safe spaces for breastfeeding.
- Create information campaigns on the importance of balancing personal and work life.
- Implement prevention and care programs for psychosocial risks in the workplace.
- Provide access to occupational mental health specialists.
- Carry out periodic evaluations to detect potential psychosocial risks.
Also read:
Pay inequality in health: Women earn 24% less than men
Pregnancy losses, what is its impact on the health of your patients?
Single mothers present higher levels of stress and anxiety than the rest of the population
#care #mental #health #working #mothers