The New Work Paradigm

With the national unemployment rate at an all time high (if you measure it the way the Reagan Administration, and those before it did, it's at 14.3%), it wasn't all that surprising when my husband was laid off a while ago.  We were not thrilled, of course, but didn't have too many worries.  He has his MBA, extensive experience in his field, and is every employer's dream.

However, here we still sit, watching and waiting, for something to rise up from the ashes and materialize into a job that can sustain our family.  The explanations are aplenty.  Either they aren't hiring at his level, or they tell him he's overqualified (and therefore, too expensive).  We never realized "educated and successful" was a niche, yet here we've found ourselves.

Many in this same position have told us it could take up to a year to find employment when you aren't an entry level employee.  That news is not something anyone, especially a family with a mortgage and three small children wants to hear.  How do regular middle class families make it in this economy right now?  Are everyone's lives changing as profoundly as ours?  It's not something many people are openly talking about.

So, slowly but surely, we've been changing the way we think about careers and jobs.  We've been shifting things, creating new paradigms. Should I be going back to work instead, while daddy becomes the primary caregiver?  I was a paralegal in my "pre-child" life, and certainly now I've added plenty more skills such as writing, editing, online publishing and various other new media (helllllo web 2.0!) to my resume.  Is that what I, a woman who's dream career was always a stay-at-home mom, will be doing in the years to come?  It's looking that way.

Since all three of our children are special needs children, the silver lining in the lack of job department has been that it's fostered incredible progress for our kids, having both parents at home.  Seeing them get better is the most important thing in the world to us.  It's made us dream about a life where that situation would be permanent.  As we open our minds, and look at the current job climate, we realize that the way that careers, online positions, telecommuting positions are all changing, finding jobs to suit our needs doesn't have to be just a pipe dream. 

What we've been searching for now, are contracted "real" full and part time positions that are all done via telecommute.  They are out there, even though they may not be posted on a job board or in the Sunday paper.  They are found through networking, making connections, and fostering relationships.  Luckily for me, I aready enjoy doing those things in and of themselves.  I am passionate about making connections, which is a big reason why I'm passionate about blogging. It brings people together, brings companies together.  I know that we will both find a position that meets our needs and is something we can throw ourselves into, dreams and all.

One visionary mom has this same idea in mind, and has launched the concept of "Chief Mom Officer" with stellar results.  Jessica, of Jessica Knows, decided to create the concept and position that she wanted, and is now Chief Mom Officer of Wishpot.com.  She's also launched her own career coaching and recruitment service for employers and candidates alike. This kind of innovation, not to mention fantastic idea that I and many like me are thrilled to take advantage of, is a great example of creating change and making that new working paradigm among women and moms across the workforce.  Tapping into the vast knowledge and experience of smart, educated moms, that wouldn't otherwise be given the time of day, is simply brillant.

So as my husband and I open our hearts and eyes and ears for what new adventures lie ahead, we're excited when we think of how the journey of a lost job can bring you to a place of contentment that you would have never reached otherwise.  It's brought our family closer, and our children farther, and we know that the next best thing is right around the corner.

Arianne is the Managing Editor of 5 Minutes for Going Green and also blogs at To Think Is To Create.
Original Chicago Moms Blog post.