Women at Work

Working While Parenting a Teen: Not What I Expected


Listen Later

Do you expect and hope that you’ll have more time for yourself and for your career as your kids become teens and young adults? Amy G did. However, she didn’t fully anticipate the emotional intensity of being a working mom of a teenager. Responding to seemingly urgent texts, keeping track of an ever-changing after-school schedule, and being an on-call problem-solver would affect anyone’s ability to focus, including hers.

There’s little research on or conversation about this phase of working motherhood, and Amy wants to help other working moms not not only get through it but enjoy it as much as possible.

She’s joined by Babson College professor Danna Greenberg, who’s the co-author of Maternal Optimism and a mother of three twenty-somethings. Amy and Danna talk though questions like, How do I recover my focus after my kid calls to unload? How might I counter people’s judgy comments about how involved (or not) I am in my teen’s life? How can I avoid becoming my kid’s de facto boss?

Guest expert:

Danna Greenberg is a professor of organizational behavior at Babson College and the co-author of the book Maternal Optimism: Forging Positive Paths through Work and Motherhood.

Resources:

  • The Upside of Working Motherhood,” from Women at Work
  • How Being a Working Parent Changes as Children Grow Up,” by Danna Greenberg and Jamie Ladge
  • How Working Parents Can Manage the Demands of School-Age Kids,” by Daisy Dowling
  • The HBR Working Parents Series Collection, by Harvard Business Review
  • Sign up for the Women at Work newsletter.

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Women at WorkBy Harvard Business Review

    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8

    4.8

    1,343 ratings


    More shows like Women at Work

    View all
    HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

    HBR IdeaCast

    1,881 Listeners

    The Look & Sound of Leadership by Essential Communications - Tom Henschel

    The Look & Sound of Leadership

    1,139 Listeners

    The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

    The McKinsey Podcast

    381 Listeners

    Coaching for Leaders by Dave Stachowiak

    Coaching for Leaders

    1,474 Listeners

    TED Business by TED

    TED Business

    1,134 Listeners

    The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving by FirmsConsulting.com & StrategyTraining.com

    The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

    111 Listeners

    Cold Call by HBR Presents / Brian Kenny

    Cold Call

    189 Listeners

    Dear HBR: by Harvard Business Review

    Dear HBR:

    748 Listeners

    Worklife with Adam Grant by TED

    Worklife with Adam Grant

    9,239 Listeners

    HBS Managing the Future of Work by Harvard Business School

    HBS Managing the Future of Work

    107 Listeners

    The Anxious Achiever by Morra Aarons-Mele

    The Anxious Achiever

    571 Listeners

    Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques by Matt Abrahams, Think Fast Talk Smart

    Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

    771 Listeners

    Coaching Real Leaders by Harvard Business Review / Muriel Wilkins

    Coaching Real Leaders

    591 Listeners

    Fixable by TED

    Fixable

    218 Listeners

    HBR On Strategy by Harvard Business Review

    HBR On Strategy

    71 Listeners

    HBR On Leadership by Harvard Business Review

    HBR On Leadership

    131 Listeners

    New Here by Harvard Business Review

    New Here

    76 Listeners