Law.com headlines an article about the life/work issue as: "In Back-to-School Shuffle, Junior Partner Moms at a Crossroads."
Mmmmnn. That headline seems a narrow focus for the extraordinary new challenges created by COVID-19 for lawyers who are parents. Those lawyers are male, female, transgender and undecided.
After all, males, at least if they want to hold on to the relationship with the spouse and be part of their children's upbringing, are increasingly concerned about how to balance the job with the personal. They bear witness to what happens to those who don't.
Remember also that there is that major parental leave lawsuit against Jones Day. Filed by a husband/wife "Savignac and Skeketoff v. Jones Day" contends bias against males in that law firm's policy of parental leave associated with childbirth. The father is determined to share equally with the wife in the offspring's care. Interesting to note is that they are both high achievers: Both had served as clerks on SCOTUS.
Another aspect of this issue is the growth of gay male couples who have childcare responsibilities.
Also, transgenders and the undecided might be in the loop on this one.
And there could be single fathers with full custody.
Okay, junior partners are in a pickle. They take on the responsibilities of new business development, along with all the billable hours. They may be saddled with administrative tasks.
That's standard.
Piled onto that plate, though, is currently much more.
Because of COVID-19, the young lawyers who are partners may be working virtually. They means the young children could be underfoot, if not attending school in-person. Both the remote and the in-the-classroom instruction will load onto that plate with anything from simple supervision of homework to assisting with concepts the children aren't getting.
That's not all. The household has to worry about preventing COVID-19. A bout of that could derail the junior partner's work output. Yes, in this time of severe unemployment, it's all about work. Capitalism can be a cruel system.
There are many ways in which the law firm can head off the lawyer's becoming overwhelmed. Law firms which pilot innovative programs will develop an enhanced brandname. There's plenty of runway there. Media outlets are waiting for those stories.
Also, as a career coach I am aware that the parents who don't panic about emerging new responsibilities can put together their own solutions.
COVID-19 is just a recent example of how working professional families encounter The Horror. The oldest version is the grandmother or grandfather who dies suddenly. The household loses the loving, dependable, totally available caretaker.
The good news is that professional households have been getting through the whatevers for decades.
They have to. At least if they want to maintain their lifestyle.
American Buddhist nun who had graduated from the posh Miss Porter's School - Pema Chodron - understands what it takes to stay in the upper class. That's why she's so effective in addressing the kinds of mindsets which afflict strivers.
Her YouTube lecture "Fear and Fearlessness" zeroes on in how the winners among the ambitious stay in game.
They lean into the fear.
They make a friend of it.
They don't run.
They don't get stuck, at least not for long.
Chodron is on the money.
There are few things which are certain. But one thing we do know is that professional success and downward trajectories begin in one's thought processes. All the rest is simply a play-out of those. The adage about that is: Focus on your thinking and the solutions appears.
The answers about your professional life are inside you. You will learn through coaching how to open yourself up to them. And get unstuck. Soon enough you will be your own coach. Affordable rates (sliding scale). Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com) Download PleaseMeetYourCareerCoachJaneGenova
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