There’s nothing quite like a global crisis to shift priorities, change focus and provoke some earnest soul-searching about who we are and what we want from life. Study after study is revealing that women across the world have experienced tougher impacts from COVID-19, with amongst others, a disproportionate number of women leaving the workplace. Women still shoulder a greater proportion of the household and family burdens, and are not surprisingly, more vulnerable to burnout and other mental health challenges.
All of this is sparking a multitude of global conversations around better ways for women to engage in the workforce, organise family life and focus more on their self-care. If you are like most working women and mothers, you’re probably in the midst of processing all the ways that the pandemic has changed how you are currently perceiving and experiencing life. You may be having recurring thoughts and going through a lot of self-talk about what you’ve learnt and what you can or should be doing to bring about a reset that suits you better. There aren’t many of us who have a clear way forward yet.
That’s why it can help to join a conversation, find out how other women in similar situations are feeling and thinking, broaden your view of the potential prospects and gain insights into the kinds of goals and strategies that can bring clarity. Play Sense co-founder and best-selling author, Meg Faure will be bringing together a panel of women leaders for the Play Sense Women @ Work webinar on Tuesday, 18 May from 8pm to 9pm. Women from all walks of life are invited to tune in. Registration is R50, and you can sign up here.
Coach, Author and Influencer, Caitlyn de Beer will be tackling how to reach and maintain the balance of work and family. Sharing five lessons from her own journey as a working mom, Caitlyn highlights the importance of boundaries that not only provide structure for being more organised but the space for self-care. She says, “Our current reality is a big challenge to our old thinking paradigms, and that’s a good thing. It’s a fantastic opportunity to become clear on our expectations of ourselves, prioritising our happiness and cultivating self-talk that is positive and empowering.”
Tech entrepreneur, Aisha Pandor, the co-founder and CEO of Sweep South has been at the frontlines managing family and nurturing her personal relationships, while starting up and scaling an innovative business across Africa. “Women already have so many responsibilities to juggle, especially at home,” she says. “I am excited by the new and innovative services, especially through tech, that are now on offer and make life easier and save time. We have to break free from the mindset that we have to somehow go it alone and do it all ourselves.”
Meg Faure, an occupational therapist and the best-selling author of the Baby Sense book series, co-founded Play Sense, an innovative micro-school programme for toddlers to provide better options for women needing child-care services. “Reliable, affordable, quality child-care is one the greatest stumbling blocks to working women achieving the balance of work and life,” she says. “Anxiety, stress and guilt around child-care affects most working women, compromising our quality of life and work. We have to explore and be open to more effective, and new and different ways to get the help we need, guilt-free!”
Often the solutions to getting more of what we need and want from life are simple and available. What it takes is changing our minds. As we search for more flexible working structures, better organisation of day-to-day life and more fulfilment in our connection to ourselves and others, women are looking for smart ways to lighten their loads. Join the Women @ Work discussion to get more insights and inspiration:
Play Sense Women @ Work webinar
Tuesday, 18 May 2021
8pm to 9pm
Register for R50, now
Play Sense Business in a Box Give-away
In support of helping female entrepreneurs who want to own their own business while maintaining a work life balance, Play Sense is giving away a ‘Business in a Box’. This complete franchise is valued at R36 800 and includes teacher training, use of Play Sense’s accredited play-based curriculum, all the equipment necessary to start a play school, from art supplies to an indoor/outdoor play gym, and ongoing marketing and business administration support from start-up to success. Any qualified teacher, therapist or childcare professional with 3 years’ experience can enter to win. Join the webinar for more information, applications open 19 May 2021.
