Work-Life Balance Tips & Making Space For Wellness At Work

The recent “return to work” effort is funny to me because me and my mom friends never left!

We continue to do what us moms do, global pandemic or not. We’re still working from home, in an office, building our own businesses, or putting in sweat equity as stay at home moms. The “work” didn’t stop. It was thrown into the mix as we juggle family, home, childcare, and personal responsibilities—without our usual support systems in place.

How are working moms doing as a collective?

Not great. According to CNBC, among the “35 million working mothers in the U.S.; 10 million of us are suffering from workplace burnout, and over 3 million left the labor market in 2020, alone. Juggling work and home is obviously not a new topic, but as Banner Health says “the pandemic has shined an excruciatingly bright spotlight on this grueling balancing act.” What this translates to is: Are you EVEN a working mom if you haven’t felt the struggle of juggling work and family responsibilities?

“When I fall off the wagon, I give myself the grace to get back on and operate with courage the next day. You’re not superwoman, but you’re pretty close!”

-Christi Hampton, Mom & Wellbeing Consultant at CVS Health/Aetna

How can women feel well at work, as they continue the pandemic juggle?

I got strategic tips from Christi Hampton, a Wellbeing Consultant at CVS Health/Aetna. The Virginia based mother became a corporate healthcare executive after leaving the entertainment industry. As a trained dancer, she witnessed how unhealthy choices impacted her colleague’s work. "Famous people were wearing themselves out with grueling hours, late nights, substance abuse, lack of exercise, no nutrition, sleep or balance—hurting each other with toxic behaviors…I chose health!" After securing a Master's degree in Exercise Physiology, she carved out a dynamic path in Health and Wellness Management. Christi now designs wellness programs for companies. "I enjoy teaching people how to take good care of themselves."

Christi’s tips for juggling work and home effectively include:

Keep a solid routine that includes firm wake-up, bedtimes, and meal times. “After working from home for 6 years, I manage my time better when I have a routine.”
Take digital out of the bedroom: Make your bedroom a sanctuary for rest. Keep TVs, laptops, and tablets out! Give yourself screen-free time to power down. Although Christi keeps her phone in her room at night, she turns off the WiFi to reduce EMF exposure.
Use a calendar: Christi prefers the simplicity of a wall calendar to a digital one. She reviews weekly happenings with her 11-year-old daughter, so that she learns the value of time management.
Make mealtimes sacred: Prioritize sitting down with your family to connect during meals. Block out time on your calendar or silence your phone, if needed.
Break up household chores: Pre-pandemic, Christi who is a single mom, would often travel for work and do all of her household chores in one day. Now that she’s home more, she sprinkles them throughout the week. “I may sweep and mop on Tuesday, then I reorganize our shelves and do our laundry on Thursday.”
Give yourself grace: “When I fall off the wagon, I give myself the grace to get back on and operate with courage the next day. You’re not superwoman, but you’re pretty close!”

How can women better cope with stress at work?

First, understand the root of the cause. Christi says there are 3 types of stress:

Everyday stress: “Survival stress, fight or flight; A bus is coming let me grab my kid!”
Chronic stress: “Is unchecked. You feel overwhelmed, out of control—can’t cope.”
Situational stress: “Deadlines, I have to get this done today! Your mind is on a hamster wheel, which increases your blood pressure, muscle tension, and fuels you up to respond.”

Situational stress often pops up at work. But in a professional atmosphere, Christi says there’s nowhere for the energy to go. “What do you do? Get up and run around your desk a million times? There’s nowhere for that fight or flight mechanism to kick in. Things are often internalized.”

Christi’s tips to manage situational stress at work:

Prepare & prioritize: Use time management skills to prepare and “try to forecast what’s ahead of you so you don’t get put on the spot.”
Stay organized: “Flag your emails at the end of the day, so that you can follow up on tasks.”
To-Do Lists: Create them. They still work!
Internal vs. External: Identifying external work responsibilities on your calendar can help, especially when working from home. “You don’t want to join a meeting and think: ‘OMG this is external. I don’t have on my suit jacket!”
Do a mindfulness activity: Christi enjoys CVS Health/Aetna’s 20/20/20 activity. “For 20 seconds, take your mind off the task that you’re doing. Look 20 feet in front of you. Let your mind veg out for 20 seconds. Peer out a window, if possible. Repeat as needed!”

“For 20 seconds, take your mind off the task that you’re doing. Look 20 feet in front of you. Let your mind veg out for 20 seconds.”

-Christi Hampton

How can employers better support working moms?

As companies start to recognize the ongoing impact of the pandemic on working moms, Christi says that employers can broaden their employee assistance programs. This includes supporting flexible, remote, and hybrid work models. It requires a deeper understanding of the role of caregiving, which has changed drastically with more people working from home. “Even small things like meal prepping changed, and carving out time for housekeeping. As we return back to work we need to think about who to re-engage. Do we re-engage the housekeeper? Is s/he fully vaccinated? Do we re-engage with daycare or a babysitter? Do we re-engage by going to the office for a few days a week? These considerations are at the forefront of our discussions.”

How can women and our employers take a more holistic approach, when it comes to improving the total wellbeing of our health?

CVS Health/Aetna did a study with Harvard’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health, which found that the path to public wellbeing is based on 6 dimensions. “Those 6 dimensions give people direction on lifestyle behaviors and health ambitions that they can work on,” Christi explains—adding that being healthy is more than just getting a quick workout in. The 6 pillars include:

Physical health: Being able to carry out important tasks in your life and future
Emotional health: Having good mental health and being able to deal with difficult emotions
Financial security: Having sufficient resources to pursue one’s life goals
Social connectedness: Having supportive relationships and connection to community
Purpose: Having meaning in your life, direction, and knowing what’s important
Character strengths: Consistent thoughts and actions to contribute to the good of oneself and others

Christi Hampton Update.jpg — “Nourish yourself, manage your time, and when you need personal time or space, take it— without apology.”

-Christi Hampton

For women who are considering leaving the workforce because they are overwhelmed with the juggle, Christi shares this advice:

“When people attend your funeral they’re not going to say, ‘Oh, if she just had 45 more hours at work, she would have been such a great girl!’ But we have to understand that financial security comes from working and earning money. If you take yourself out of your professional career, the professional career goes on without you. There’s always someone who is ready to fill that slot, that’s just competition—that’s life.

If you completely immerse yourself in your career and forget about your family, then that’s not good either. Try to find a happy medium. Fight to set those healthy boundaries for yourself, your family, and your career. Do I believe you can have it all? No. I believe that you can have 80% of those things. Us women are solid. We’ve got chops. We can handle this. We just have to figure out how to rejuvenate and recharge ourselves. It goes back to setting healthy boundaries. Nourish yourself, manage your time, and when you need personal time or space, take it— without apology.

Thanks for reading! For more tips, resources, and good energy for busy moms who want to lead healthier lives: Follow me at @getmommafied on Instagram, and subscribe to my bimonthly Mommafied Note.