This Monday was the inaugural Mother’s Monday, a professional celebration to follow Mother’s Day.

Gayatri Agnew (one of the leaders on the great team facilitating this event) described the day:

“At home on Sunday you’ll celebrate Mother’s Day with your family. When you come back to work on Monday it can feel like you have to check your motherhood at the door. What if instead we acknowledge it, celebrate it, and help corporate culture adapt to it? ”

Click here to read more of her inspiration behind starting this day of professional celebration and activism.

Especially in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic which has blurred the lines between work and home, personal and professional, this day took on special meaning for me.

Women are leaving the workforce The need for additional flexibility for all employees has become increasingly apparent as statistics roll in around women considering and leaving the workforce.

As Mark Cuban reminded us all, the world is watching how companies respond and treat their employees during this crisis. It’s a big opportunity for employers to showcase their humanity and win long term loyalty from customers and employees.

Flexible work comes in many shapes and sizes, but the most common ask I get from parents is the ability to WFH ~2 days/week. Despite this being a very non-perfect pilot (especially with lack of proper hardware set-ups and schools closed, etc.), it does seem that remote work is losing it’s stigma. Zillow CEO Rich Barton recently shared the evolution of his thinking here on Twitter: 

“Today we let our team know they have flexibility to work from home (or anywhere) through the end of 2020. My personal opinions about WFH have been turned upside down over the past 2 months. I expect this will have a lasting influence on the future of work ... and home. Stay safe.” 

While not for everyone, remote-work advocates have been heralding the advantages for years, and it’s great while managing work during a pandemic is new for everyone - that there has been a wealth of knowledge to draw on here as we all shift our teams away from face time.

The future of work will look very different as a result of this crisis, and there is a major opportunity for companies to use this time to redefine what the workplace needs to be, and gain insight from employees about how they will thrive.

I hope that working moms will be closely considered as part of the voices in this conversation, and look forward to celebrating the strides we make as a community of employers next year for #MothersMonday!

Looking for ideas of how to keep the celebration going? Here is a list of “breakfast-in-bed” equivalent gifts to give to the working moms in your community:

• Endorse them on LinkedIn!

• Ask about your company’s family leave policy. Does it include all parents? How long?

• Send a note letting them know how much of a badass they are (personal/professional/both)

• Read an article they’ve written, then share and engage!

• Set up a 1:1 call to catch up and ask if there’s anything you can do to support them:

  • Professional growth

  • Anyone in your network that would make a good connection?

  • Collaboration opportunities?

  • Job search

And questions to ask as you keep the conversation going:

• What’s the hardest part of being a mom on this team?

• What’s the equivalent of “breakfast in bed” that we can give you today?

• How would you recommend our team to another mom?

• Are there benefits that would make your work/home life easier?

• Does our team’s schedule work for you? 

• What shifts would you make to your schedule if could optimize purely based on your ability to thrive?

• Where do you see your career heading? How can we get you there together?

• Are there any projects that you’d like to be reassigned or reprioritized until schools reopen?

• What projects are most important to focus on right now?

• Are there any meetings that you feel are at particularly difficult times in your day?

• Can I work a morning shift and a late night shift to help split childcare during the day with my partner?

• Can I reduce to 60% time during this crisis?

• Obviously things are remote now, but when we go back what will the flexibility be around working from home a day or two each week?