Balancing professional and family lives has recently been discussed in detail. Professional life brings a lot of benefits and assurance, while, at the same time, it can exact a heavy toll, both mentally and physically. Once we start a family, our pace of life changes. Our everyday is divided into two important spheres: work and family. In order to fulfil our professional tasks effectively and, at the same time, take care of our family and household, it is important to balance these two spheres. This, however, is far from simple.
This paper focuses on preschool teachers. Preschool teachers fulfil extremely dynamic, active and responsible tasks. When they enter their family environment after work, they still have a lot of chores and responsibilities to carry out as mothers and partners. Altogether, this can exact a very heavy toll on them, both mentally and physically, which is why professional and family lives need to be balanced carefully. Using the qualitative data collection method, I selected six preschool teachers who are also mothers to preschool- or school-age children. The selected preschool teachers were interviewed, and their data and responses were processed afterwards. According to the results, preschool teachers regularly feel mentally and physically overwhelmed at work. They also experience stress and feel exhausted. They find balancing their professional and family lives extremely challenging. They are most frequently too tired after a stressful workday to pay enough quality attention to their children. They also feel pressured and guilty, because they want to be good enough in both spheres. They often feel under pressure due to afternoon work obligations, as this means that they spend less time with their children and family. They mainly see a solution to quality professional and family life balance in mutual help at home and in the workplace. In the family environment, partner or father of their children plays a significant role, as he carries out chores and participates in the upbringing of and care for their children equally. In the workplace, on the other hand, colleagues are those who offer support and assistance. Moreover, a key element is also preschool management, who ensure that their employees feel heard, that they are granted sick leave and that they can be excused from afternoon meetings due to family obligations. At the same time, preschool teachers can be offered the possibility of a part-time work schedule, which has a positive effect on their family lives.
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