The Future of Work for Our Children

There are three things deeply concerning me today.

1) The pressure on parents and children
2) The impact this pressure has on the mental thriving of both parent and child
3) The link between mental thriving and the future of work

Everywhere we turn as parents, there is a demand on our time and energy. We are working really hard, ensuring every minute of every day is used efficiently and that somewhere in all the busyness of daily life there’s space for quality family time.

Only the reality looks more like rushing to school, speeding up conversations with your child so you can get them in the car, remembering their drinks bottle left on the kitchen bench, whilst asking yourself if you’re going to make the morning stand-up meeting with your team at 9.30am.

In the background, your mind is processing your daily activities continuously (mental load), usually with no breaks. And without deliberate action there’s really no stopping it.

Research tells us we lose at least nine hours a week to family related mental load. That’s more than one working day a week. And it’s hurting us….

Imagine putting a load of ingredients into a blender and leaving it on all day, everyday. The motor would burn out pretty quickly and the lid would eventually fly off and contents explode.

That’s what happening to us as a nation of parents. I speak to mum after mum, drowning under the constant never ending pressure. And it’s got to stop.

Because it’s hampering our ability to be present with our child and our ability to be deliberate in the beliefs we are instilling in them.

Belief in themselves, belief in their creativity, belief in their capability are all key aspects to thriving in the future of work. The volume of work in parenting isn’t going to change, but our mindsets have to in order to thrive. We need to look at ourselves first and how we are processing our daily lives in order to help our children.

In the next few weeks’ blogs, I will share with you why children’s self-belief is a critical ingredient for the age of innovation and creativity, and what the components are of healthy self-belief.