7 Tips for Women Shifting Back to an In-Office Work Environment.

Pierce Davis & Perritano will celebrate Women's History Month with a series of posts throughout March providing 7 Tips for Women Shifting Back to an In-Office Work Environment. And, since learning more about trailblazing women (both historical and mythical) can help contemporary women find inspiration in the ways in which those before them have tackled challenges, this series will also recommend a book for those seeking to find such inspiration.

Women Owned Businesses during the Pandemic

As the effects of the pandemic continued to unfold last year, 1,821 new women-owned businesses were started each day in the U.S.. A joint study between NAWBO National and Gusto revealed that almost 40% of those women started a new business as a direct result of the pandemic.

Significantly, most of them started their own business in order to gain more control over their work schedule. Juggling a full-time career and a personal/family life is a major challenge. While the pandemic has exacerbated the demands of child/family care on women in the workforce, those demands have long been present and will continue to be at the forefront of their minds as they shift back to an in-office work environment.

TIP #1: Maximizing your Time in the Office

In this first part of this series, the women attorneys at PDP share one of the tips that have helped them improve their work-life balance.

Even before the pandemic resulted in home doubling as the office, many women found themselves bringing work home from the office to finish at night or on the weekend. One way to make such at-home worktime less stressful is to bring home work that is more administrative, such as bookkeeping and invoicing clients, and to limit work that requires communicating with clients and others to the hours when you are in the office.

Book Recommendation

Lepore, Jill. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡 𝐻𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑊𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑊𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛. Vintage, 2015.

(also available as an audiobook)

TIP #2: Building Time Into Your Schedule for Regular Exercise

Due to time-constraints, location or personal preference, exercise is not a one-size-fits-all activity. Whether you join a barre or spin class, workout in a gym with a personal trainer or do a solo workout at home, the physical and mental benefits gained from regular exercise will help balance the proverbial work-life scale.

Book Recommendation

Rosenberg, Rosalind. 𝐽𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝐶𝑟𝑜𝑤: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑖 𝑀𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦. Oxford Univ. Press, 2020.

(also available as an audiobook)

TIP #3: Seeking Out More Opportunities to Collaborate With Colleagues

One of the major benefits of in-office work that many have been missing during the pandemic is the collaboration that comes with seeing your colleagues in-person each day. Whether that means bouncing ideas off of each other over lunch or jointly undertaking a project, it is easier to achieve a better work-life balance when others are sharing the burden of a particular task with you.

Book Recommendation

For those looking to take inspiration from trailblazing women in American history, today's book recommendation - Sandra Day O'Connor -exemplifies today's tip, as she was known for having all of the Supreme Court Justices gather for lunch as often as possible.

Hirshman, Linda.  𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘸: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘖'𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘨 𝘞𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. Harper Perennial, 2016.

(also available as an audiobook)

TIP #4: Networking Creatively

Finding time for business networking can be challenging with an already full plate of work and home responsibilities. An important point to keep in mind is that networking can occur in a variety of non-traditional ways, from simply keeping in touch with law school and college classmates to making new connections while attending a child’s school event or volunteering for a cause close to your heart.

Book Recommendation

For more inspiration from trailblazing women in American history, a new book recommendation can be found below. As a penultimate example of the power of networking, the subject of today's book pares nicely with today's tip.

Weiss, Elaine. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘳: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘍𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘰𝘵𝘦. Penguin Books, 2018.

(also available as an audiobook)

TIP #5: Paying it Forward

In recognition of the contributions that others who came before us have made towards our successes, continuing to pay it forward is both important and personally rewarding. One way to pay it forward is to mentor others looking to enter, or seeking a promotion in, your professional field. Mentoring can take many forms, such as: sharing your career experiences (including the challenges you encountered along the way), being readily available to answer questions and offer advice, and making introductions to those in your professional network.

Book Recommendation

Today’s book recommendation is in honor of the trailblazing Madeleine Albright, who passed away yesterday. Although she accomplished a great deal in her own right, Secretary Albright undoubtedly understood the importance of today’s tip, as she often spoke about her own mentor (her father).

Albright, Madeleine. 𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑚 𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑦: 𝐴 𝑀𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑖𝑟. Miramax Books, 2003.

(also available as an audiobook)

TIP #6: Setting Aside Some Personal Time Each Week

While physically separating yourself from your workspace is important, finding a way to shift your mental focus is just as vital. Schedule a few hours of you-time to participate in a favorite hobby, such as reading, meditating, cooking, taking a walk into town or going dancing. In addition to temporarily taking your mind off work, this will help recharge you for the new workweek and prepare you to tackle any upcoming challenges.

Book Recommendation

For those in need of some inspiration, today’s book recommendation should do the trick. Helen Keller personified the power of perseverance in the face of challenges.

Keller, Helen. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑦 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒. Simon & Schuster, 2005.

(also available as an audiobook)

TIP #7: Relishing the Small Victories

Applauding yourself for how much you accomplished during the prior workweek and allowing yourself a few moments to relish in even the smallest of victories is key to a healthy work-life balance. This can help quiet that inevitable nagging feeling that you could have done more or better, which – in turn – can help boost your confidence as you continue to pursue your professional goals during the upcoming workweek. Equally as important, it will put you in a more positive frame of mind for the weekends spent with family and friends.

Book Recommendation

Today’s book recommendation is for those seeking to continue drawing inspiration from trailblazing women in American history long after Women’s History Month 2022 comes to an end. One of the subjects of today’s book faced setbacks and struggles in her quest to succeed in a profession once devoid of women; but she refused to allow those setbacks to derail her long-term goals. As she once wrote, “Doubt is disease.”

Nimura, Janice P. 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘗𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯– 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦.W. W. Norton & Company, 2021.

(also available as an audiobook)