The perils of 'extreme working'... at MyDaughter

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The perils of 'extreme working'...

Monday 10 January 2011

Categories: Careers, Family Relationships, Role Models

For me, as a working mother whose job involves responsibility for the education of young women, the article in the Saturday magazine of The Times (We don’t know how she does it, Jan 1 – behind paywall) was a significant — make that an extreme — wake-up call. Are we seriously being invited to admire the lives of women such as Suzanne Heywood of McKinsey & Company who work 100 hours each week “across time zones” and whose entire lives are divided into 30-minute windows?

It is ironic that Ms Heywood specialises in organisational design. One might think that her employer, a leading management consultancy, should put its own house in order if it routinely expects senior executives to work this kind of schedule, in however “relaxed” a manner.

Of course it is vital that talented women — and men — are able to find fulfilment and success in their careers alongside family responsibility. However, the endorsement of “extreme working” as a glamorous life choice only pushes farther into the future the day when employers will work seriously together with parents to ensure the proper care of the next generation, alongside the success of industry and commerce.

Clarissa Farr
High Mistress, St Paul’s Girls’ School

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