I’m away from home on another business trip this week, so it is a perfect opportunity to share some articles related to working moms and business travel.
If you’ve read any of my other posts or my about me page, you know that I work part-time in my career. A reduced schedule has been an intentional choice of mine and one that is supported by my husband. I love working, and I also love being the parent who, for the most part, handles the before and after school responsibilities relating to our kids.
When I interviewed for my current job, I was honest with the interview panel and told them that business travel would be difficult because, at the time, my husband traveled A LOT. I got the job and was placed on a project team with less need to travel than the other teams.
For various reasons, the need for me to travel has increased. One co-worker left the company, we’ve won additional work from the client, and my responsibilities have increased.
At the same time, my husband quit his job to start a company and he no longer goes on overnight, out-of-state trips. That has significantly helped us adjust to the switch in our family’s ‘frequent flyer.’
Below are three articles that I found interesting and I think you will too. Check them out!
Business Travel as a Mom
There are a few things that I really like in this article by Farnoosh Torabi on Daily Worth. She emphasizes 1) her love for her child and 2) that her work is also an important part of her livelihood. I get that. I’ve always wanted both worlds: parenthood and a career. I also like how she created a few personal rules to guide her work-related travel. One of them relates to trip duration.
Check It Out: How to Balance Business Travel as a Mom
Traveling for Work – Leaving Guilt Behind
Liz from Chief Mom Officer wrote a post about leaving guilt behind while traveling for business. Her family situation is different from mine. Her husband is a stay-at-home dad, which helps a lot when she travels for business. In my family, I work part-time while my husband works full-time and runs a company, so my out-of-state travel does disrupt our family’s routine. Thankfully, he’s supportive of my career and we get through it, but I do feel some guilt when my trips collide with his busiest weeks.
Check It Out: Traveling for Work as a Breadwinning Mom – Leaving Guilt Behind
Is My Job a Good Fit for Me?
Finally, Erinn Bucklan has an article on Jean Chatzky’s site, Her Money, with some pointers on how to identify if a job is a good fit.
I’ve questioned that about my own job recently. One of Erinn’s tips is to know the expectation for travel. In my case, the need is increasing and I’m not sure that’s what I want for me and my family at this point in time. Update: I left that job (see this post).
Check It Out: Is This Job a Good Fit? Here’s How to Find Out
Do you travel much for work? In the comment section below, tell us how you make it work for your family!
Featured image by Briana Tozour on Unsplash
