The bad mother complex: Why are so many working mothers haunted by constant guilt?
…On talk shows, in online support groups, and in our most private thoughts, it seems impossible to utter the word “mother” without uttering the words “bad mother.” These days, a mommy blogger can make an entire career (so to speak) trafficking in guilt, wearing her failures like badges of honor: “I let my infant watch five hours of TV!” “My toddler dunked his head in the toilet!” Whether you’re a blue-suit executive, a bank teller, or Dr. Phil, we all know — or think we know — about family, work, conflict, and guilt.
Now, researchers at the University of Toronto have thrown new light on the guilt question by doing something very few work-family scholars have tried, even though it seems obvious: quantifying the emotions we experience as work and family boundaries become increasingly blurred, and measuring the effect those emotions have on our psychological well-being.