Let’s talk about guilt

When I first became a working parent, I refused to buy a book that was popular at the time, called ‘Mother Guilt’, fearing it would add a whole bunch of other things to feel guilty about to my already long and growing list. Then, as I started How Do You Do It, I quickly discovered I was not alone in harbouring a perpetual feeling of working parent guilt. Of the thousands of working parents we’ve coached, it is the emotion that is most commonly mentioned and that most can identify with in some form or another. Guilt seems to be born with the baby – or even before (have you done enough ante-natal yoga this week?).

What is guilt really about?

Where does working parent guilt come from and what can we do about it? In the short video below, I discuss the some of the causes and how to recognise and normalise the emotions around guilt. From understanding that guilt comes from caring and about wanting to do a good job – as a parent and as an employee, to recognising that as a working parent you’ve made a choice and that comes with pros and cons, the video sets out simple ways to feel more comfortable with the choices you’ve made and how to start to tackle feelings of guilt.

See more resources for working parents here or watch other videos in this series about overcoming common working parent challenges.

Virginia Herlihy, CEO & Founder, How Do You Do It