Introducing the Human Library Concept as a Tool to Mitigate Work and Household Stress among Working Mothers at UENR

As indicated by Akuezuilo and Ebenebe (2019), mothers working in universities perform different tasks including lecturing large classes, project supervision, marking of student’s answer scripts after examination and administrative duties. This is evident in the findings of this study as the predominant activity working mothers perform are administrative in nature even though some performed other duties such as teaching, mentoring and janitorial duties. Some answers provided by the mothers are indicated below:

“I perform some managerial and administrative functions. I am the head of my team so I have staff working under me whom I supervise. I also attend meetings when need be” (HLM3)

“I am a junior staff (cleaner). I sweep and mop a whole block, clean the louvre blades and fetch water to the washrooms” (HLM8)

“I am a junior staff (cleaner). I sweep and mop a whole block, clean the louvre blades and fetch water to the washrooms” (HLM8)

For Amu (2017), while most women in Ghana are seen to be involved in traditional or less capital intensive activities, others are engaged in a lot of the invisible activities in the formal sector, with only a handful of them occupying managerial positions due to their level of education. This is confirmed by Jones et al. (2023) who discovered that the representation of women, especially mothers in poor-quality jobs are higher than their representation in high quality jobs. In view of this, women (who happen to form the majority) generally have limited impact on the decision-making process but are at the receiving end of the decision-making process (Amu, 2017). That notwithstanding, working mothers irrespective of the kind of role they play in the economy (or formal sector) are financially empowered to provide for their family, eventhough the activities involved may have some negative consequences on their wellbeing (Waterhouse et al., 2017).

Although what gave satisfaction to the working mothers slightly varied, the fact that working mothers were interested in what others thought and the level of satisfaction other people found in their performance emerged repeatedly. For majority of the women, the approval of their initiatives, income earned and the impact they made in the lives of others at the workplace gave them joy and satisfaction. The comment below capture these findings.

“what actually gives me satisfaction at work is the impact I make in the lives of others. Also, when I am able to reach my goals as well as meet my timelines” (HLM4)

“The income I earn at the end of the month is a source of joy and satisfaction to me because at the end of hard work, you deserve some remuneration. That is what gives me satisfaction” (HLM1)

“When I come up with a new idea which is accepted by my superior and it becomes successful after its implementation, it really gives me joy and satisfaction. It makes me want to do more” (HLM13)

Kelley et al. (2019) in agreement with the findings indicate that, the rewards that emanate from both professional career of women and motherhood increase the overall satisfaction of working mothers. Suswanto and Soeharto (2022) argue that there is a relationship between job satisfaction and satisfaction derived from the home. This therefore can mean that mothers who are able to balance both their domestic roles and work roles are more likely to attain satisfaction with their job. For other researchers (Wiens et al., 2023), it is difficult for working mothers in academia to attain job satisfactions especially with the existence of bureaucracy and sometimes the stigma associated with maternity leave. However, this can be resolved when the mothers receive support from the employers in the form of flexibility and part-time work, as well as support from coworkers and family (Wiens et al., 2023).

Although the working mothers outlined different challenges, almost all the challenges were influenced by their family life or those that impeded the ability of the mothers to combine their roles as mothers with their duties at work. Below are some of the responses the mothers mentioned:

“my major challenge is time constraints. I come to work late because of my children. Having to attend to them before coming to work makes me get to work late” (HLM5)

“my challenge is the fact that we are not allowed to bring our children to the work place while working. I for instance have younger children. I have a baby in addition to a toddler. So, it becomes challenging getting someone to take care of my baby” (HLM2)

The findings revealed that working mothers identified “time constraint” and their obligations to their children as some of the major challenges they faced. This is supported by Uddin (2021) who discovered that mothers were concerned about the lack of available time to complete their tasks at home before reporting to work as a major challenge that affects their work schedule. The issue of “time” as a challenge to working mothers can be associated to the study by Al-Asfour et al. (2017) who identified excessive workload at home on working mothers as a barrier to their career advancement. Thus, it is obvious from the findings and literature that motherhood and the activities associated with it can pose challenges for working mothers at the workplace.

In relation to finding time to pursue career matters, the working mothers indicated that they did not always have time to pursue their career as they would have wanted to. Hence, they admitted that consciously or carefully planning for career matters was helpful. These are highlighted in the comments below.

“in finding enough time on career issues, it happens but very minimal. I will just say sometimes” (HLM1)

“for me, I always have time when I need to do something for myself. It’s just a matter of planning ahead” (HLM9)

In this modern day and time, the career woman, although a mother is expected to excel careerwise just as her male counterparts (Sloka et al., 2015). Although most of these working mothers have the desire to progress in their career, the findings reveal that “time”, which is highly essential for this achievement has become a scarce commodity for working mothers. Dizaho et al. (2016) add that, the major factor that impedes the career progression of working mothers at the workplace is the insufficient time caused by motherhood obligations. With the assertion by most researchers and scholars (Ahmadifaraz et al., 2013; McQuaid, 2015; Mkhize & Msomi, 2016; Asfour et al., 2017; Rajgariaha et al., 2021; Jones et al., 2023) that motherhood obligations greatly impact the career development of working mothers, it is imperative that organizations understand how this occurs and take the precautions and strategies necessary to ensure the career development of mothers.

It should be noted that working mothers are a group of women who are working and are mothers at the same time. As a result, they usually feel stressed. Majority of the working mothers admitted that they feel stressed in combining work roles and domestic roles. However thers revealed that they did not feel stressed in combining the two roles because they are able to manage the two roles. This is revealed in the following responses.

“Combining these two roles are time demanding. When I am at work, I keep thinking about the children’s welfare although there are people taking care of them. This puts stress on me” (HLM12)

“Work demands and house chores are very stressful. This is because you have to ensure that both sides are well. In spite of this, it has been noted that, the home demands are sometimes high” (HLM2)

“Attending to a lot of things at the same time. You have limited time to do so many tasks. People usually say women are good at multitasking but it is not an easy thing to do. All these put together makes performing these roles stressful” (HLM10)

“waking up early in the morning and making preparations for my children and husband before coming to the work is stressful” (HLM14)

“Lack of support systems. I do not have people I can talk to or seek help when I am in some kind of difficult situation. That is not to say there is nobody at all. There are someavailable but its not anybody that I can talk to. Maybe for lack of trust in people” (HLM3)

“what gives me pressure is me combining my work schedules together with trying to meet the promotion requirements at work and gaining recognition from my employers, family and society. A lot is required from us and it is not easy for us as moms. But through it all, we are managing” (HLM5)

With reference to the responses, it can be seen the mothers at every point in time were more concerned about their domestic roles than their work roles, even if they had assigned someone to assist with some of their domestic tasks. These were clearly the primary causes of the stress they were experiencing. This finding is in tandem with Akuezuilo and Ebenebe (2019) who indicated that, the demand from these dual responsibilities (that is, motherhood and career) put excessive pressure and stress on the working mothers. In a similar vein, Mkhize and Msomi (2016) and Singh and Kaur (2021) mentioned that working mothers are faced with some challenges in balancing their home roles with their work roles, even if they are allowed to work from home (Akuoku et al., 2021). In Okereke-Adagba (2023) view, working mothers who combine the roles of motherhood, career and wifely duties are faced with numerous challenges such as difficulty in locating quality and affordable childcare services, lack of flexible work options, and limited mentorship which as Swathi et al. (2016) mentions is a number one source of stress. Similarly, Akuezuilo and Ebenebe (2019) assert that stress of working mothers emanate from the spillover of preoccupation, fatigue and irritability that arise from the numerous tasks associated with the women’s role as mothers and workers. Dugan and Barnes-Farrell (2020) elaborate this further by emphasizing that when women combine both domestic and professional roles, it drains their energy, resources and time. Thus, the inability for working mothers to effectively balance their domestic and professional roles cause dissatisfaction from family members and employers which ultimately impact their mental and physical health negatively (Gridiron, 2018).

With the mothers showing more concern about their domestic roles than their work roles, it was discovered that this really affected their career or work roles. Thus, in their bid to perform and be excellent at their roles as mothers, the working mothers had to put their duties at work or career on hold or consciously delay performing some tasks at work. These are captured in the comments below:

“Caring for babies and toddlers makes me sometimes come to work late. Also, my two children are below the ages of 4 years and are prone to infections and often fall ill. When they are ill, I need to pay attention to them. This sometimes makes me miss work” (HLM1)

“My kids close from school before I do. So, bringing them to work after picking them up from school makes me unable to continue my duties at work since I will have to monitor them. Also, when my children are on vacation or midterms, I must automatically go on my annual leave since I sometimes do not get a babysitter” (HLM3)

“me being a mother now does not affect my work schedule. I remember when I started having kids, I really struggled hard. But now, I have gained some experience so I am ok. Although not entirely, but it is better than before” (HLM7)

“my role as a mother really affects my work. I mostly feel tired, sleepy, less active, and suffer headaches on days that house roles stress me out. I sometimes leave behind some unfinished office work for the next day because I have to go and pick my children from school” (HLM9)

“Yes, my motherhood journey affects my work role. It has become difficult for me going for further studies because my children are young and do not have anyone to cater for them in my absence. Professional development also plays an important role on the job but I am unable to do so. At times too I report to work late. It is unintentional to report late but it is because of the situation I find myself in” (HLM11)

This finding draws attention to the fact that, although the working mothers have the desire to excellently carry out the tasks required of them at work, they always feel the need to put them aside to attend to the needs of their homes. Thus, the mothers willingly neglect their duties at work (even though there may be some consequences) to see to it that the needs at home are met. This is confirmed by Okereke-Adagba (2023) who states that motherhood is a life changing experience that profoundly alters every aspect of the woman’s life, including her career development. Thus, in their bid to perform and be excellent at their domestic roles, the working mothers without any regrets were ever ready to put their career on hold or consciously delay performing some tasks at work. This decision by mothers can be associated to the expectations of the society for mothers to concentrate primarily on their families rather than their careers (Russo, 1976). For this reason, Braje and Dzambo (2021) discovered that the state of motherhood has become a major cause of discrimination of women at the workplace interms of lower salaries, denial of promotions or being perceived as not committed employees. Furthermore, Akuezuilo and Ebenebe (2019) are of the view that most mothers through their numerous duties at home become stressed and transfer it to the workplace. In the longrun, this negatively affect women’s work execution, occupation satisfaction and their general prosperity (Singh & Kaur, 2021).

Since working mothers as their name implies are obligated to successfully perform their roles as mothers and employees, it becomes necessary that they employ some mechanisms to enable them excel at both roles. Some of the mothers mentioned that, seeking help from in-laws or family members, using domestic gadgets (such as blenders and washing machine), and planning, prioritising and performing tasks that are urgent first are the means by which they cope with managing their domestic and work roles. However, some strategies like delegating some domestic duties to elderly children and taking some time off work or applying for annual leave when overly stressed were adopted by majority of the working mothers. Some responses they mentioned are as follows:

“I stop everything and relax when I feel tired. Also, I am fortunate to have my in-laws around so I seek help from my in-laws to assist with the baby-sitting” (HLM1)

“I seek advice from other mothers on how they manage their homes. I also try to convince my boss to permit me to take some time off when need be. But most importantly, I have preconditioned my mind that I should be able to manage both since others have done same and survived” (HLM5)

“what I usually do is try not to take any office related work home and vice versa. I also try not to force myself to complete tasks that can be done over an extended time period. I try to prioritise my duties and perform the most relevant and urgent ones first before the others” (HLM9)

“what I do is to take my annual leave when I feel overly stressed. But apart from that, I plan ahead and share responsibilities among my elderly children” (HLM12)

“I call for help if I need it. I also employ the use of domestic gadgets such as washing machines, blenders, food processors and others to ease my work” (HLM14)

Mclean (2002) in agreement to these findings emphasized the need for working mothers to receive some form of information or advise and emotional support from their family members as these interactions increase their ability to cope with stress. However, these findings are inconsistent with that of Valizadeh et al. (2018) who discovered that having an intimate relationship with God and seeking help from him was the most effective approach used by working mothers when faced with stressful situations. Rajgariaha et al. (2021) agreeing to receiving instrumental support from family members and the adoption of religious coping strategies, further introduced one other coping strategy employed by working mothers which is the suppression of activities that compete with their role as mothers. For Valizadeh et al. (2018), seeking help from family and self-management were some of the mechanisms used by working mothers to manage and alleviate stressful conditions. In effect, ones ability to cope with stressful situations is context specific. This is because the approach that would be favourable to a particular context may be unfavourable in another context.

The working mothers emphasized the importance of consulting other working mothers which is the idea behind the human library concept to find out the strategies to adopt to successfully manage both their domestic and work roles. According to these mothers, this strategy is highly beneficial. The researchers in an attempt to know whether the mothers will encourage other working mothers to consult each other about their ability to successfully balance their domestic and worklife in order to reduce stress. Statements made by the mothers in relation to this are seen below:

“Yes, I will advise other mothers to find out from other working mothers on how they manage their homes and work activities. Life becomes easier when we share ideas. So, I do not have to stress myself over challenges that already have working solutions. People have tried and tested certain things that have worked for them, so why not apply their solutions if I am facing the same challenge” (HLM2)

“Wisdom, they say, is not in the mind of one person so I encourage that we talk to other mothers and learn from people we encounter” (HLM6)

“Talking to other mothers gives you new ideas and solutions to complex issues about combining work and house roles. So, I will definitely encourage talking to other mothers” (HLM10)

“Some mothers are inexperienced so if we engage in interacting with other mothers, we learn from each other. This will help me balance my work roles and other domestic work” (HLM12)

In support of the findings, Boboňová1 et al. (2020) mention that, the human library concept is recognized as an innovative method and a safe space for dialogue, fostering open discussions on various topics between human books and their “readers.” Thus, when mothers engage in open discussions among themselves, they are able to open up on their challenges and fears with regards to managing the home. Even though the findings indicate that working mothers recommend the interaction with other mothers to help in coping with stress, Akuezuilo and Ebenebe (2019) discovered that majority of working mothers did not employ any stress adjustment strategies to help them cope with stress. This could be due to their unfamiliarity to the availability of coping mechanisms to stress or their ability to withstand stress.