The Style Files
My thoughts on design, writing and entrepreneurship.
Photo credit (background): www.pexels.com
Photo credit (background): www.pexels.com
What the internet thinks of employable moms. Photo credit: www.pexels.com Here's the thing: if I had a nickel for every time I read a stupid blog about how easy it is to work from home, I'd have the funds for a beachy vacay. Not so. Sometimes, these articles are also aimed at women and especially moms which is insulting in its own right. (Yes, moms can work; I'm aware.) Without further ado, it's time to shut down these delusions about working from home from someone who actually does.
1. Mom Jobs If you've come across these self-help articles before, chances are you've noticed the mom theme, too. I get it. Moms have obligations with kids and chores and all kinds of stuff. It's legit. What's not is targeting moms with adjectives like, "Easy! Fun! Simple! Mind-numbing!" or anything along those lines. Just because moms have scheduling conflicts doesn't make them brain-dead. The other piece of this sexist puzzle that bothers me is the idea that women only want happy, social gigs. Pretty reductive if you ask me. Sure, it's great to find a job you enjoy or a friendly work environment. Don't you suppose that at least some women sometimes aspire to more than outdated stereotypes? 2. Easy Work Getting back to all work-from-home jobs, the messaging is consistent. Apparently people in my line of work must be motivated by sheer laziness. Sure, a major perk of working from home is subtracting your commute but does that honestly make you stupid? If these lists are anything to go by, all presumptions point to yes. To be honest, I'm not sure if this implication weights more heavily on motivation or capability. Is it that we're too lazy get off our collective butts or too dumb to represent the work force? It could be either. Never mind remote workers surviving a pandemic; the temporary status separates simpletons from the real world. 3. Great Pay Of all the lies, this one's probably the worst. I've read or watched these lists many times over the course of my freelance career and often have experience in a few of the recommended sectors. For example, as someone who's worked as a transcriptionist, translator and tutor, the advertised pay is more than I've ever made on average. (Sometimes it's even triple!) What I want to know is why no one else is calling their bluff. Advertising excellent pay for online work is even more egregious considering how much people are struggling to make ends meet. Making false promises might get your article read but it's no way to inform your audience. The long and short of it is most influencers and/or listicle writers know jack about employment stats. 4. No Qualifications Another favorite in this list of insanity. I can tell you as someone with three unrelated degrees that many work from home jobs do, indeed, require higher education. The truth is tons of people would be drawn to work-from-home jobs if they required no training and paid handsomely. I know what you're thinking: some online jobs are entry-level. That's partially true. Transcriptionists still need to know how to type, spell and write with technical precision. Content writers and translators aren't exclusively highly educated but what I know from the field is the vast majority are. How do you think someone's going to pull a foreign language out of thin air? We're not talking pig Latin. 5. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Last but not least, the final myth is work-from-home as a nonstop carnival. You'd think this content was swapped for a kid's dinosaur party by accident. As much as jobs can be fulfilling or have moments of excitement, I'm willing to bet no employee is 100 percent amused. Here's to everyone who likes their work even half the time! I do realize this list of retaliation may sound like doom and gloom. If working from home weren't worth it in many ways, there's no way I'd stick with it for so long. Just don't let the messaging get to your head: it's as real and demanding as many other jobs in the workplace. Final Thoughts In summary, working from home isn't the end-all be-all for lazy, unqualified dullards. It's also not the only option for moms no matter how sexist your expectations. Here's to a world countering fantasy with fact in an increasingly complicated employment landscape.
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October 2021: |
AuthorHi, my name is Martha Oschwald and I'm a content writer focused on design. This page is meant to give you a taste of my writing style and latest musings. Archives
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