It’s a bird. It’s a plane.
No it’s an ambulance coming to take Career Superwoman to the hospital.
Like so many women attempting to balance the demands of an ascent up Career Mountain with marriage, family and business, I too suffered from a case of undiagnosed career burnout.
Fresh from an unexpected tour of Bed, Bath and Bedpan, I asked myself whether today’s modern woman can have it all and successfully attain the super heroine trifecta: 7 figure salaries, perfect families and slender figures...and most importantly should we?
Superwoman can bring home the bacon…Ta-DA-da-DUM.
Every week I see the silent sisterhood of the career fatigued moving like zombies through the aisles of my neighborhood Target. Ambitious career superwomen like me, moving quickly towards the checkout with blackberries plastered to their ear while their children pull down 25 bags of trail mix, cheetos and cookies from the store shelves.
Where is that damned Enjoli woman to bring home the bacon while the career superwoman tries to have it all? That smiling 70’s commercial wonder woman is somewhere stressed out and possibly bedridden from career exhaustion.
Face the facts: something or someone in your life is going to suffer for the sake of your career.
Maybe not your spouse or kids but your career will feel the crunch of having too many balls up in the air at one time. According to a 1989 Harvard Business Review Study, Management Women and the New Facts of Life “Career-and-family women are willing to trade ambition for the flexibility to raise their families; their wilingness to forgo advancement but still give their best can greatly upgrade middle management." This was true in 1989, but do we women still feel the same about sacrificing our career trek for our families?
Dear Boss man or Boss lady, can you give career superwoman a break?
Should you go to your boss, show him or her this HBR study and ask for a little relief? It depends on who your boss is and your particular industry. In my experience bosses of both genders usually can't relate to a person who has difficulty juggling work and family without complaining, particularly if you are female.
If you are in the highly competitive legal, finance, brokerage and entertainment industries; be careful. Often the employee who is not available for every late-night meeting, conference call or brainstorming session can be viewed as the replaceable weak link on the team.
Is having it all ever worth pleasing the super heroine within?
It depends on the woman and her goals. Some women might forgo the ambitious climb up the corporate ladder while raising families. Others have no choice but to balance career and family because they are the sole breadwinner in their household. Ask yourself what you're willing to sacrifice and when.
After my unexpected illness, my career superwoman is in reflection mode. I now understand that women can have it all, just not at the same time.
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