Looking ahead with 2020WON vision, here’s what I see

By now, you must know that I’m an eternal optimist.

My view is that things will turn out better than we fear, until proven otherwise. In short, I’m a bigger fan of sweet lemonade than sour lemons.

Now that vaccines are beginning to be shipped by the millions of doses with more companies coming on line, we see glimmers of light beginning to shine through the darkness.

We all have our own definitions of when the “new normal” will return. But now is the time to be thinking about what you want your new normal to look like.

I’m reminded of my dear mother’s favorite saying of, “You made your bed, now lie in it,” which I always took it as a negative. But let’s talk about the bed you want to make for yourself and your family as we all move forward.

As one example, listen to Miranda’s increasingly familiar story:

“Between the job and homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, laundry, plus taking care of the kids, it was all just too much,” she told me recently. “I was working 12 hours a day.”

So, back in May of last year, she quit her outside-the-home job to help her two young children with their schoolwork.

“It’s just easier this way,” she explained, adding that her husband is an essential worker whose work schedule has been virtually nonstop since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Should she go back to work?

What should Miranda do about her future, and her husband’s, going forward? What happens when schools finally reopen?

Should she go back to her former job, assuming it’s still available?

Or is it time for Miranda to stop and take stock of what’s working — and what isn’t — for herself, her husband, and their kids.

Flexible scheduling and working remote have become common practice at most companies. Most firms of any size are preparing for a workforce that has some combination of working remotely and in-office.

But that formula just isn’t cutting it anymore for many of the working moms who are trying to do their jobs while raising young children.

Compared to the Great Recession of 2007-08, which hit middle-income male workers the hardest, this pandemic has been disastrous for female wage-earners, especially in the service industries.

Fairly or not, those jobs are most typically filled by females, with long hours and limited income options.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in September, an estimated 865,000 adult women dropped out of the workforce, more than four times the number of men.

In addition, one-quarter of all women are considering leaving the workforce or downshifting their careers, according to a recent study by McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.org.

Where does that leave Miranda?

Do both parents need to work full time?

For starters, she and her husband need to look at their home and career options with a clean slate. Do both of them need to go back to working full time? Have they adjusted their family’s lifestyle to live on one salary — his or hers?

If Miranda wants to, or needs to, go back to work, now is the time to make sure the job and industry that she left is still right for her, and her family, going forward.

Is she going back to work because she finds the job challenging and fulfilling? Or is earning a regular paycheck a basic necessity?

This could be the time for either Miranda or her husband to stay home and manage the household and kids’ activities. Maybe it’s best to wait a few years until the kids hit a certain age and are in school full time.

Being a stay-at-home parent is not a lifelong decision. It can be a month’s worth or a few years of paychecks. In my view, more and more employers respect balancing career and family choices. At least they should.

Right now, plan out your short-term future and make it happen. Don’t jump back into the same stream that you left without looking at all of your options.

I hereby declare the New Year to be 2020WON.

Make it a winner for you and your family.