My Husband Is A Well-Paid Government Employee, Then Why the Hell Should I Work?!

Flexible career options for women today enable those who can’t work full-time also to have a career. Don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t ‘need’ to work!

A letter to all the ladies who wish to have a career.

Let me make it clear in the very beginning that this article is not for those who are homemakers by choice. Personally, it’s a great choice for any woman. I wouldn’t be able to write this at this moment if my mother would not have made this choice.

First of all, let us understand why there is the need to to be a housewife in spite of a strong desire to have a career.

Why is it difficult for women to have a career?

• Many times, balancing work and family becomes an arduous task.
• Maternity and its problems are one of the crucial turning points in life.
• Health is at risk due to stress.
• Lack of family support which is almost inevitable for any successful woman.
• Relocation of the husband.

Some of these or sometimes all of them together compel a woman to take a decision to be a full-time homemaker. This decision becomes an easy one when her husband has a well-settled career with a steady income. Even friends and family are more than willing to support it by saying, “What is the need to work when all your needs are taken care of?”

As Emily Klein has rightly said in her article ‘Here’s What’s Happening to Working Women‘, there is a downward shift in the number of working women in America.

I would like to talk about India as I hail from this great country. In India, as a girl hits her 22nd or 23rd birthday, it’s time for her family to think about her marriage. (This is the case in many of the homes but not all.) Early marriages may have had biological reasons behind them.

Still, the choice should lie with the woman, whether career or marriage or marriage with a career.

Sadly, many women fail to make the correct choice.

What’s the result?

“I’ve achieved a lot in my career but I long for a family”

Or

“What is the need to work when all your needs are taken care of?”

Having a career comes with a price tag

Sometimes a woman has to opt for living in a different city, apart from her husband and family in order to continue on her career path. As mentioned earlier, relocation of the husband is one of the factors that leads to career blockade for a woman. No wonder separation of a husband and wife has become the current trend for a lot of couples for career reasons. At times this is the scenario even after becoming parents.

Is there a resolution?

“Where there is a will, there is a way”. As American entrepreneur and speaker Jim Rohn has rightly said, “If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”

If you happen to be in a situation where you cannot go out to work or don’t want to stay apart for the sake of your career, some of the flexible career options a homemaker can opt for include:

• Tutoring
• Writing
• Babysitting
• A business of some innovative hand-made products etc.

The internet is loaded with all the part-time or freelancing jobs especially suited for home-makers. According to me, a business of any kind is one of the best choices a woman can make at any point in her life.

So, come on, all you talented ladies! Please don’t find excuses. Command life to bring it on! Be your own heroine. There are tons of things you can do. There is also no need to over-stress yourself either for a career or a family. There are ways around for all odds.

As the famous quote by Jimmy Dean goes, “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”

Earlier published here.

Sonal Maharana

I'm a post-graduate in pharmacy by education and a writer at heart. As

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