#IWD2021 Feature: Challenges of working mums
Happy International Womenâs Day!
#ChoosetoChallenge.Â
Letâs all celebrate our strong, independent women and their achievements this International Womenâs Day.
This year, we bring you closer to the ladies in OETEO as they share about their most challenging moment as a working mum and advices for fellow mummies!
Joanne Lin, mother of 4
(Founder of OETEO)
The most challenging moments would be, the time when you have to skip your kidâs event just to be at an urgent work meeting. The guilt of not being able to be there to witness special milestones of your little one is so painful.
There was an occasion where I had to be away for a meeting, while I sent my hubby and my mother in laws to watch the performances of my kids. I was tearing as I was watching the video recording that they had video for me. Such emotional moments were uncalled for but it was the guilt of a working mother having to miss out the milestones. But I am thankful that technology is so advanced that I was able to enjoy the performance through the screens, seeing the groovy moves that they had worked so hard for the event.
Best advice to a working mummy on work life balance:
Over time, I have learnt that the key to maintaining a balance in work-life existence is prioritising and managing expectations realistically, as no one is perfect, not even me.
Alas, itâs important to accept your failings as much as your success and love yourself; love yourself so that you can love others.
  
(Marketing Team)Â Being a working mum for 2 years, one of the greatest challenge I faced was having to juggle my time between work and being the main care taker of my 1 year old during Circuit Breaker. I learned cooking and came up with different stay-home activities for my growing toddler so as to keep him occupied while I attend online meetings / attend to my work.
With the sudden changes, my little oneâs sleeping routine was all messed up which resulted to me being only able to catch up proper with my work at night after putting him to bed. While I enjoyed and appreciate the time spent bonding with my son, all these got me a little overwhelmed. Thankfully, with the great support from my husband and superiors, we managed to pull through the tying time together! This experience allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and be a better, stronger woman than I used to be. To fellow working mummies:
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Kim Tan, mother of 2
(PD&D Team)
As a mother of 2 kids, age 28 and 31, my priorities in life has always been fulfilling my tasks at work and rushing back home to cook a sumptuous home-cooked meal for my family for the past 2 decades.
Being a traditional mother in the modern world, I believe a home-cooked dinner is a must for the family to sit down together, as we catch up on the daily activities
at the dining table.
The challenges I face as a working mother of two grown up kids now, is worrying about their well-being when they are working overseas / overtime, and ensuring that they are being well-taken care of as much as I can.