Working While Managing Your Child’s Mental Health | Women at Work | Podcast

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales, using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at accenture.com/spotify.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:30)
The new LinkedIn Hiring Pro can't undo your last hire, The No Show, who set you back because they didn't show up on day one, or day two, or ever again. And now your product launch is delayed because you're talking to alien abduction podcasters to track them down.
But LinkedIn Hiring Pro can help make sure your next hire sticks. In fact, businesses who use LinkedIn are 24 percent less likely to reopen a role in the next 12 months. Hire right the first time with LinkedIn Hiring Pro. Post a free job today at linkedin.com/quality.

**Amy Gallo** (1:02)
You're listening to Women at Work from Harvard Business Review. I'm Amy Gallo.

**Amy Bernstein** (1:07)
And I'm Amy Bernstein.
Most working parents in the US are at least somewhat concerned about their children's mental health. Just over half are either very or extremely concerned. A third of them said they didn't think it would be okay to leave work to attend to their child. And a quarter of parents agreed that no matter what's going on with their child, they are not allowed to let it interrupt their work. Those are a few of the insights that the Children's Mental Health Advocacy Group On Our Sleeves unearthed in surveying working parents over the last two years. Here's some more.
Over half of working parents had turned to their child's pediatrician or reached out to a psychologist or counselor to get them professional help. And then over half of those families received a diagnosis.

**Amy Gallo** (2:02)
When your child is struggling, whether it's with social anxiety or anger management or autism, it's nearly impossible to focus on anything but how they're doing. So I wasn't surprised to read that parents on average estimated that a third of their thoughts during the workday were about their child's mental health and well-being. For a quarter of parents who were especially concerned and whose work had been regularly disrupted, that average was nearly 50%. These disruptions, the calls that must be made, the appointments that must be attended, the unexpected pickups from school, affect parents' productivity and the way they feel toward their job. Half reported feeling hopeless about finishing certain tasks, underprepared in a meeting, and like the quality of their work was slipping.
Even among parents who were just somewhat concerned about their child's mental health, a significant fraction said they were also missing work and falling behind.

**Amy Bernstein** (3:03)
And being repeatedly torn between protecting your child and meeting a project deadline is simply unsustainable. No wonder 32% of parents changed jobs or quit altogether in the past year.
Many more plan to do the same in the coming year because they're not receiving the flexibility, understanding, and paid time off they need. That's bad news for companies that don't have family-first cultures and policies.

**Amy Gallo** (3:31)
So how can we make work more manageable for women trying to keep their kids safe? The executive director of On Our Sleeves, Marti Post, is here with ideas.

**Amy Bernstein** (3:42)
This is an episode that our colleague Erica Truxler pitched. She's been on the show several times before and hosted our Family Management Series. So she's going to sub in for me.

**Amy Gallo** (3:52)
Another heads up, in this interview, we touch on the topic of suicide, which we know is tough for some listeners. If that's you.

**SPEAKER_1** (4:00)
This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales.
Using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at accenture.com/spotify.

**SPEAKER_2** (4:30)
The new LinkedIn hiring pro can't undo your last hire, the no show. Who set you back because they didn't show up on day one or day two or ever again? And now your product launch is delayed because you're talking to alien abduction podcasters to track them down.
But LinkedIn hiring pro can help make sure your next hire sticks. In fact, businesses who use LinkedIn are 24 percent less likely to reopen a role in the next 12 months. Hire right the first time with LinkedIn hiring pro. Post a free job today at linkedin.com/quality.