Are Parents Better Employees?
As most have heard by now, after Democrats won control of the House, Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the next Speaker of the House and first woman to hold the job when Congress convenes in January told CBS News anchor Katie Couric that she's broken "the marble ceiling." Pelosi also remarked that raising her five children was the best preparation for the highly visible job as "elect of the elect" presiding officer of the House.
The same day, I heard Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, speak at a luncheon in Virginia about her experience running H-P and various divisions of At&T and Lucent Technologies during her groundbreaking career as a female business executive, the subject of her new book, Tough Choices. She, too, echoed Pelosi. "Parents make great employees because they've mastered two of the most critical tasks of successful management: multi-tasking and prioritizing."
While it was great to hear parenting lauded as a management tool, I'm not sure I always agree. Because of caring for my kids, my energies at work are diminished. I am always exhausted. My brain works far less well than it did before sleep-deprivation became a constant in my life. I can't stay late at work even when I have to (although I can work on my computer in my kitchen until 1 a.m. and often do!). Sure, I'm more efficient. I'm more understanding and sympathetic. My multi-tasking skills could win me an Olympic medal. I like to think I see a more holistic view of life than I did before I had kids. But on many days, I'm just scraping by, cutting corners, doing the best I can within the limited hours I now have to devote to work. What I've gained by becoming a parent seems cancelled out by the energy, flexibility and mental acuity I've sacrificed.
How about you? Do you think parents make better (or worse) employees? Why or why not? What have you learned from parenting that you've been able to put to work at work?
By Leslie Morgan Steiner |
November 20, 2006; 7:25 AM ET
| Category:
Moms in the News
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