Felice Schwartz attempted to deliver a simple message: the companies should create work environments in which the employees are not penalized for their commitment to family. Consequently, professional success should stop being a function of whether an employee has children (Schwartz). Since women are routinely tracked to child care duty, employers should focus on providing them with adequate conditions for balancing family life and career.
This goal can be achieved via several changes in work environments and job descriptions. Firstly, the employees could be given an option to work from home if it is possible for a particular occupation. Secondly, if the remote work is not feasible, the employers could offer flexible working time arrangements. Lastly, job descriptions could include an overview of family benefits provided by the company. These changes would boost the employees’ morale and allow them to spend more time with their children.
I can associate the family-friendly changes in work environments with several positive effects. Most importantly, the increasing flexibility of working arrangements benefits productivity (Schwartz). An employee can focus on professional duties better, knowing that their employer does not consider family a burden. In addition, the benefit of spending more time with children contributes to employees’ psychological comfort. For example, several friends of mine enjoyed remote work during the COVID break because they could set a convenient pace and check on their children whenever they wanted. A good quality daycare can be expensive or unavailable; flexible work environments significantly mitigate this problem. Finally, family-friendly job descriptions prevent the situations in which a company misses on hiring a decent employee. A capable candidate with a family and children might be reluctant to apply for a job if the company does not explicitly demonstrate its willingness to support mothers and fathers. Overall, the points made by Felice Schwartz have become highly relevant nowadays.
Work Cited
Schwartz, Felice, N. “The ‘Mommy Track’ Isn’t Anti-Woman.” The New York Times, 1989.