Flywheel Mama

I often hear from people that if you want work-life balance (WLB), you need to work at a larger company that has a more or less 9-5 job. This advice especially resonates with parents with young children who are juggling family and career.

My coworker, who recently came back from maternity leave, left for a larger and more stable company. We chatted about her reasons for this career move:

• She will join a 30+ people team with significantly fewer responsibilities.
• It’s a 9-5 remote job, allowing her to spend more time with her infant and maintain flexible family time.
• The company follows a slow-growth trajectory but promises more stability than a demanding startup environment.

Like most people, I agree with her choice. I’d want to clock out by 5 pm and spend quality time with my children, keeping work off the table during weekends.

But the question I ask myself is: do I want to spend my prime working years at a “mature” company that isn’t innovative or doesn’t have a promising growth trajectory?

This is a conflict that most parents face: choosing between advancing a career and prioritizing family time. I definitely struggle with this balance.

When my children graduate from daycare/preschool and start pre-K, Kindergarten, and beyond, I’ll have to decide what to do when they get off before noon.

While there are a few after-school programs in the area, fitting in extracurricular classes like martial arts, music, arts, language, and enrichment can be challenging. Most start between 12‑5 pm, and I may have to resort to those with limited options that start after 5 pm.

Parents with long commutes may struggle even more to take their kids to after-school activities and might have to rely on weekend programs instead.

My coworker’s decision to work for a laid-back, stable company sounds very compelling now, but I am still holding back.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I am staying put at the startup I’m currently working at. We are still about a year away before our oldest starts Kindergarten, so I have some time to make more informed decisions.

Keep the momentum going,
Flywheel Mama