Have you found that your multi-tasking skills have improved since you've become a mum? This is just one of the reasons why companies are recognising the increasingly significant role of working mothers in the workplace, according to new research from Microsoft Office 365.
The research was revealed at the firm’s Working Wonders Mums event in London yesterday and follows recent reports that major financial firms in The City are following a US trend to provide paid ‘returnship’ schemes for mothers to re-enter the workplace for a set period, with the possibility of a job at the end of it. It is hoped that this will increase the number of women in the upper echelons of the business world.
According to the research, almost three quarters (72 per cent) of bosses say working mums are vital to the UK workforce, with over half (57 per cent) claiming that they make better team players than women without kids.
Working mumsadmitted that their multi-tasking had improved since having kids (62 per cent), as well as time-management (46 per cent) and organisational skills (27 per cent).
What’s more, working mums showed improved teamwork (29 per cent) and empathy towards colleagues and clients (34 per cent).
Despite this, bosses admit that there are misconceptions when it comes to working mums, which are most likely to be that they require more time off than those women without children(30 per cent).
Digital technology – such as online banking, social media and email functionality is reportedly playing a major role in helping working mums manage their work/life balance. A third (37 per cent) said that it helped them work from home and 44 per cent use it to keep in touch with family and friends. A third (29 per cent) believed that it added an extra hour to their busy daily schedule.
Liz Earle, entrepreneur and mum-of-five said, ‘The research findings are indicative of changes I have personally seen in business over the last decade. Mothers work wonders both in the house and home as they become an increasingly important resource to all those around them.
‘I think businesses are becoming more accommodating for mothers, and new technologies are saving time and making our lives easier in all sorts of ways, from keeping in touch with colleagues and friends to finding out where the closest baby-changing room is.’
Do you think being a mum makes you a better employee? Let us know below!