The On Ramp and Other Metaphors

One of the not-so-hidden scourges of at-home parenthood is the lingering question of how you re-enter the workforce (which seems to be generally be the expectation today). Newsweek takes a stab at the issue this week in a nice piece that catalogs what some forward-thinking firms are doing to capture those moms who ended up off of the career track for a while.

The article mentions training courses, new approaches to part-time work (I love the concept of the Booz Allen "adjuncts"). All in all, the biggest advantage is probably the spreading recognition that at-home parents are not damaged goods. The story does inject a note of caution, reminding readers that work-life revolutions have a way of sputtering (on-site day care and job sharing still exist, but neither has been adopted in anything approaching the numbers needed).

Still, good to see this kind of press, even if it was mom-focused (in Newsweek's defense, it was part of their "Women in Leadership" cover package). But dads face these issues, too, as has been pretty well documented. Hopefully, we're near a tipping point when it comes to re-entry into the workforce.