Balance between work and family doubles self -pressure

Working mothers are fighting a daily struggle between work requirements and family obligations, amid pressure distributed between long hours of working hours and the requirements of education and care. The conflict doubles when the employee is a mother or incubator for one of the owners of determination.

The specialists and mothers of workers suggest solutions that can contribute to improving the quality of a working woman’s life, most notably the contribution of the husband in promoting balance by creating a supportive family environment, enhancing the concept of real partnership among family members, in addition to the contribution of the work environment in observing the conditions of working mothers.

In detail, Mother Maryam Al -Mahri, a working woman and a mother of an autistic child, said that the daily challenges that she faces exceeded her difficulty in what other mothers face, as her child suffers from a sleep disturbance that sometimes lasts for two days or more without rest, which makes it difficult for her to get enough sleep, or start her day with a comfortable psychological and physical situation.

She emphasized that this situation affects its commitment to the working hours or the shift system, given the child’s continuous need for monitoring, which forces her to repeat the request for leave or permission from work.

She adds that the care of a child of anxiety also means reducing social relations, and avoiding participation in occasions, due to the difficulty of taking him to a public place, especially the places that are characterized by noise or congestion, which adds another psychological and social burden to the mother.

As for reaching the care centers, Al -Mahri indicates that there is a real difficulty in coordination between the dates of treatment sessions, study hours and work, “The sessions often coincide with the morning periods, which compels me to provide repeated permission, in light of a system that only allows three hours a day, and that obtaining regular permission makes it complex, in light of the needs of other employees.”

She emphasized that these conditions have a direct impact on its professional path, because the repetition of absence and delay in accomplishing tasks negatively affects the opportunities for promotion and receiving positions.

She believes that the institutional environment is still lacking in sufficient flexibility to support working mothers from this category.

She pointed to the necessity of legislation that guarantees the rights of mothers who seek children with determination, and includes flexibility in working hours, and the possibility of remote work, and reconsidering the mechanisms of evaluating annual performance, as well as reducing the years of service as a pathway for early retirement, according to the severity of disability, taking into account the continuous care conditions required by some cases.

Maryam Al-Mahri, “Umm Rashid”, confirmed that she was able to support her son academically, which contributed to his arrival to the fourth place at the first grade level in his school during the academic year 2024-2025, in addition to his special excellence in mathematics and drawing activity.

Family presence

The working mother, Najla Al -Janahi, reviewed her experience in reconciling work and raising children, noting that she faced challenges in her professional beginnings, but she managed to overcome them, thanks to the organization of time and balance between responsibilities.

She explained that her career, which spanned more than 32 years, allowed her to raise her children on the values ​​that she believes in, taking advantage of the flexibility of the work environment at the time, as the hours of working hours in the nineties and the beginning of the millennium ended early, which gave mothers enough time for care and daily follow -up.

She added that the changes in the work environment in recent years, including the extension of working hours, have made the challenges greater for mothers, especially with the intersection of working time with school schedules.

She said she was spending a fun time with her children, as she shared playing and daily activities, and keen to accompany them in their small and large details.

Al -Janahi believes that long professional responsibilities impose a different rhythm, because the repeated absence from the house feels that he is a “visitor in his home.”

Family challenges

The working mother, Amira Mahdi, stressed that the daily psychological conflict she lives between work duties and family requirements, increases when her work requires movement between different emirates, which requires her to spend more than 12 hours outside the home.

She said, “The long absence creates a continuous feeling of negligence towards the children, and makes the idea of ​​resignation a lot.”

She pointed out that physical and psychological exhaustion resulting from work affects the mood, which is reflected in dealing with children, explaining that the feeling of failure doubles when you see their children start their day without it, and they eat breakfast with a working help, which generates an internal feeling that there are those who take care of their children more than them.

Mahdi believes that the work gives her a feeling of value and giving, and she says that her feeling that she contributes to developing her society creates a kind of psychological balance and internal contentment.

The path of ambition

The working mother, Meccan President, talked about the changes that occurred in her personal ambitions after motherhood, noting that she was planning to complete her university studies, but the work pressure prevented this.

She said: “My ambitions changed after I became a mother, as I aspired to complete my university studies, but the long working hours were not supportive of that, and I had to postpone my dream for my family.”

On her attempts to achieve a balance between personal ambition and the requirements of family life, she made it clear that she is making a great effort to achieve it, but the responsibilities of the family and the care of children require a lot of time and effort, which often leads her to provide the priorities of her family on herself.

She also expressed her wish that her sons would realize the value of the effort she makes as a working mother, and to appreciate her sacrifices to provide a stable and generous life for them, taking into account her circumstances in the event that she is late to meet some of their needs as a result of work pressures.

Continuous challenges

The former member of the Federal National Council, Aisha Muhammad Al -Mulla, stressed the importance of setting a “flexible framework” that supports the mother without hindering her career.

She said: “It is necessary to take into account the division of tasks, work hours and the quality of jobs assigned to mothers, without this being seen as an obstacle to evaluating performance or promotion opportunities, but rather as an institutional necessity to ensure balance and stability.”

She added that the organization of time remains a shared responsibility, because the employee’s mother is concerned with managing her time and resources effectively.

She also indicated that the real balance does not mean idealism, but rather the ability to separate the conscious between the roles, so that the woman accomplishes her career tasks efficiently, maintains her family presence and follows up the affairs of her children without weakening their ties to them or excessively in their psychological health.

Absolute idealism

Dr. Maya Al -Hawari, the first Emirati doctor in emotional intelligence, said that the biggest challenge lies in the unrealistic pursuit of “absolute idealism, because the woman is trying to be an ideal mother, an ideal wife, and an ideal employee, without realizing that reaching full success 100% in all these roles is impossible.”

And she added that “self -pressure generates a sense of negligence and prevents help, which leads to fatigue and psychological burning.” She explained that «accumulated psychological fatigue is reflected in all aspects of life. The woman returns from work exhausted, without energy to take care of herself or her family, and the husband is often the oppressed party in this equation. Some couples feel not appreciated or marginalized, especially if the roles are not clearly divided from the beginning.

She emphasized that the most promoting balance is the supportive family environment, led by the husband, in addition to the quality of the work, because some jobs end with the end of the working hours, and others extend to the house, which makes it interfere with the life of the family, and presses the mother, husband and children.

Al -Hawari also stressed the need to raise societal awareness of the importance of distributing roles within the family, and enhancing the concept of real partnership between the spouses.

Balance key

The member of the Federal National Council, Mona Hammad, stressed that the balance goes beyond the mere coordination between the time of work and the time of the family, because the working mothers live under constant pressure, in which responsibilities extend to the husband and children, and sometimes parents, and it requires them to rehabilitate psychologically, socially and founded so that they can withstand.

She added that «the challenge is not limited to women only, but also includes every individual in the family, and from here the importance of the existence of flexible legislation in work environments that allows women allows appropriate conditions, whether through part -time systems, or flexible holidays, or even providing special facilities in cases of accompanying patients or traveling for treatment.

She pointed out that the institutional agility in dealing with these cases guarantees sustainability and enhances functional performance, without being a heavy burden on the work structure.

She called for community platforms such as family counseling councils, under the supervision of specialists in mental health and special education, to provide space for guidance, education, exchange of experiences, enhance social solidarity, and reduce the feeling of loneliness and exhaustion.

And she saw that the financial dilemma is not less heavy, as the costs of care, rehabilitation and medical care are a daily burden that burdens the families of people of determination, and “it is important to unify support services for people of determination under one comprehensive umbrella, with the necessity of setting a ceiling for the fees of care centers and basic supplies, to avoid draining all family resources in favor of one individual, which creates psychological and social gaps between Brothers, and affects the dynamics of the family as a whole. ”

It recommended the creation of specialized nurseries for people of determination, allowing its employees to put their children in a safe and supportive environment during the official working hours.

A supportive work environment for parents

Institutions in the country seek to provide a supportive work environment for parents, by adopting best practices.

Several local and international bodies, finally, received the “quality sign for a supportive work environment for parents” in its third session, as part of a program launched by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority.

Dubai World Ports of Emirates Today confirmed its adoption of a set of supportive policies, the most prominent of which is raising the maternity leave to 100 days, and the leave of paternity to six days, in addition to creating three days an emergency leave for family care. The feeding hours were also extended to two hours daily for 12 months, and the launch of mothers and support groups that enhance the balance between work and the family. She also confirmed that she is working to establish a child care center, with the aim of supporting the new parents, and facilitating their return to work. The Child Development Center pointed to the development of a group of initiatives designed to meet the needs of parents from employees, including flexible work systems to suit family schedules. He said that he is offered a paid parental leave, days exceeding the days adopted in the UAE law, which gives parents enough time to communicate with their children and care for them.

The center also seeks to provide a family friendly advantages, provide access to the center’s educational and treatment programs, and parents ’support programs for employees and their children.