This archive report was first published on 4 October 2019.
October 4, 2019 ¶
For working mothers who travel frequently, guilt can be a constant companion. But with the right support system and mindset, they can navigate the challenges of work-life balance.
Three mothers who spoke to Nyakundi Report shared their experiences and strategies for managing the demands of work and family.
Rosalyn Mugo: Integrating Work and Family ¶
Rosalyn Mugo, Managing Director of Zamara Kenya, believes that work-life balance is a myth. Instead, she prefers the term work-life integration.
"How can you separate your life at work and life at home?" she asks.
Rosalyn credits her "amazing village" for her successful work-life integration. Her support network includes her spouse, parents, and nanny, who knows exactly what to do in case of an emergency.
She travels every two months to different parts of the world and each trip lasts a maximum of a week. Occasionally, the trips take longer, but she has found a way of integrating these long absences into her parenting too.
"If I know the trip will take longer than a week, I plan it around school holidays so that my children and husband can join me," she says.
Dr. Stellah Bosire: Coping with Absence ¶
Dr. Stellah Bosire, Co-Executive Director of the East Africa Sexual and Reproductive Health Initiative, considers being an absent parent a perennial outcome of living in a capitalist society where parents have to work and spend long hours away from their children.
"I have insecurities about not being there enough, of missing an opportunity to correct him when he's wrong, of him not feeling loved enough and of him feeling like he's all alone," she says.
She compensates for time spent away from her son by giving him 100 percent undivided attention when she's in the country. Before she leaves, she eases the separation anxiety by telling him about the country she will visit two weeks in advance.
Priscilla Muhiu: Maximizing Time with Family ¶
Priscilla Muhiu, Regional Head of Glovo, travels one or twice a month for a maximum of one week. She struggles with feelings of inadequacy as a mother but finds comfort in the knowledge that she is working so that her children will never lack.
"I remember a month ago when I came back from a trip and my eldest son was super excited to see me. He was jumping," she says.
Her advice to other traveling mothers is to maximize time with their families when they are around and not to beat themselves up because of travel.
