The article selected to support the argument that women who work outside of the home have a negative impact on their children is titled “Workplace Stress and Working from Home Influence Depressive Symptoms among Employed Women with Young Children”. The article investigates how “workplace attributes affect changes in depressive symptoms among working women with young children” (Shepherd-Banigan et al., 2016), especially those who are aged from 6 to 24 months. The authors suggest that maternal employment can have negative effects on young children because they are completely dependent on their mothers for their needs. The study specifically focuses on depressive symptoms among mothers that they face due to a “one-unit” increase in their job-related queries that often led to a “2-point increase” in disruptive scores over the period of time.
The article chosen to refute the argument is titled “Gender Differences in Couples’ Division of Childcare, Work and Mental Health during COVID-19”. The study suggests that there are “no significant detrimental effects” on a “child’s emotional or social development” if their mother keeps doing work during the time of post-pregnancy (Zamarro & Prados, 2021). The study suggests that the ideal scenario for children is where both parents are in paid employment, and mothers, along with their children’s fathers, share household responsibilities. Encouragingly, maternal employment can positively influence children’s development, especially when balanced with part-time work and a supportive home environment.
In my opinion, full-time maternal employment can affect young children negatively as they depend on their mothers the most for their basic needs, which may lead to more behavioural problems in children than the mothers. I have observed that part-time work, if necessary, for mothers during the first year and the later years of a child has a more protective effect on their physical and mental health than full-time working mothers. So, allowing women to work from home can reduce workplace stress and improve mental health among those transitioning back to their workforce after the birth of their child. Such mothers, while balancing work and life, can also serve as role models for their children, especially sons, promoting gender equality and support for women in the workforce.
References
Shepherd-Banigan, M., Bell, J. F., Basu, A., Booth-LaForce, C., & Harris, J. R. (2016). Workplace stress and working from home influence depressive symptoms among employed women with young children. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 23, 102–111.
Zamarro, G., & Prados, M. J. (2021). Gender differences in couples’ division of childcare, work and mental health during COVID-19. Review of Economics of the Household, 19(1), 11–40.
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