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. ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐ป๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. 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. ๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ค: ๐โ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ฆ. 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. ย ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ธ: ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ข๐บ ๐'๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ฃ๐ถ๐ณ๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ. 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 childโs 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. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏโ๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ: ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ. 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

Todayโs 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 todayโs tip, as she often spoke about her own mentor (her father).
Albright, Madeleine. ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฆ: ๐ด ๐๐๐๐๐๐. 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, todayโs book recommendation should do the trick. Helen Keller personified the power of perseverance in the face of challenges.
Keller, Helen. ๐โ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ฟ๐๐๐. 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 โ in turn โ 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

Todayโs book recommendation is for those seeking to continue drawing inspiration from trailblazing women in American history long after Womenโs History Month 2022 comes to an end. One of the subjects of todayโs 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, โDoubt is disease.โ
Nimura, Janice P. ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ: ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ธ๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏโ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ.W. W. Norton & Company, 2021.
(also available as an audiobook)
About Pierce Davis & Perritano
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Pierce Davis & Perritano also has offices in Providence, Rhode Island, Bridgeport, Connecticut, and California. ย PDPโs wealth of experience in a wide range of practice areas makes our firm well-suited to guide clients through all phases of litigation.