CONCILIATION AND TELEWORKING IN THE ENGINEERING SECTOR

Telecommuting has burst into our lives unexpectedly, radically transforming the way we conceive work and family life. This modality, powered by technological advancements and a progressive shift in business mindset, has opened up a range of possibilities for reconciling work responsibilities with familial ones, thus redefining our concept of balance.

The flexibility of telecommuting, allowing employees to carry out their tasks from their homes or any remote location, has broken down the physical and geographical barriers that used to separate the workplace from family life. This new dynamic creates the expectation of a more harmonious balance between both aspects of life.

In this scenario, crucial aspects such as motherhood and work-life balance are closely intertwined. Especially for mothers, telecommuting represents an invaluable opportunity to be more present in caring for their children without sacrificing their professional growth. This translates into a series of concrete advantages:

• Flexibility in scheduling: The ability to adjust work hours according to the baby’s caregiving needs allows mothers to optimize their workday during times of greater availability and tranquility.
• Time savings on commuting: By eliminating the need to commute to the office, mothers can use that extra time to dedicate it to caring for their children.
• Increased quality time with the baby: Working from home provides the opportunity for a more constant and available presence to attend to the baby’s needs, thus strengthening the mother-child bond.
• Reduction of stress: Eliminating stress related to commuting, separation from the baby during long workdays, and concerns about childcare logistics throughout the day can contribute to better mental and emotional health for the mother.
• Ease of breastfeeding: Mothers working from home can breastfeed their baby more easily, as they do not have to be separated for long hours or worry about expressing milk to store while they are away.
• Greater control over the work environment: Working from home allows for creating a more comfortable and personalized work environment, which can improve productivity and overall well-being for the mother.
• Opportunity to witness important milestones: Being present during key moments of the baby’s development, such as first steps or first words, is an invaluable experience that telecommuting facilitates.

In summary, telecommuting offers a series of benefits that make it easier for mothers to balance their work responsibilities with childcare, allowing them to enjoy a higher quality of life and well-being both in the workplace and at home.

In this context, work-life balance becomes fundamental and thus becomes a key objective for organizations that wish to retain and support employees, especially working mothers, by offering policies and practices that enable an effective balance between work and personal life.

To achieve this, companies must adopt policies that promote an inclusive and flexible work environment, allowing teleworking mothers to fulfill their family responsibilities without compromising their professional development.

Furthermore, it is crucial to foster an organizational culture that values the work of mothers and recognizes their skills and contributions. Equal opportunities and the elimination of gender biases in the workplace are essential aspects to ensure equity and well-being for all workers, including mothers.

From my experience as a first-time mother, I have experienced in those early moments the conflict between the desire to be present and spend as much time as possible with my baby, and the fear of seeing the foundations of your professional career waver, which you have fought so hard to achieve. This challenge is heightened in demanding fields such as engineering, where a pause in professional development can be costly.

That is why I greatly appreciate the flexibility that MEP-Projects offers, not only to me but to my fellow parents, allowing us to adapt our schedules to be present in the most important moments of our children. This business vision focused on worker well-being, along with the human quality of our team, makes a difference and drives us to perform at our best, putting our utmost professionalism and effort into our daily work.

MEP and its policy have achieved the difficult but necessary goal of providing adequate work-life balance, allowing workers, especially in the challenging engineering sector, to balance their personal and professional lives satisfactorily.