Balancing Work, Family, and Caring for Aging Parents
with Liz O'Donnell, Founder of Working Daughter & Award-Winning Author
There are many ways in which caregiving transforms our lives. We are always in a balancing act, whether it’s balancing our careers, managing our families, or caring for loved ones that are older.
Today, my guest is Liz O’Donnell. She is the founder of Working Daughter, a community for women who are balancing elder care, career, and more. She is an award-winning writer, and her book, "Working Daughter: A Guide for Caring for Your Aging Parents While Earning a Living," was named one of the best books of the year by Library Journal. Liz is a former family caregiver and is often recognized as an expert on working while caregiving. She has written on the topic for many different outlets, including The Atlantic and Harvard Business Review, and she has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Oprah Magazine, and more. Liz also serves on the Executive Board for Fast Company.
Today, Liz and I talk about Working Daughter and the honesty in those real emotions that we feel when we’re caring for others. We discussed how to juggle work and care, knowing that we need support, how we go from victim to boss, what is the caregivers gain, and what we experience in this complicated world of relationships and family dynamics. We also talk about how to redefine those relationships as they change, planning our time, determining what needs come first and where to invest our energy, where we can find support, and how employers can offer support to women in the workforce.
We had a really good conversation today talking about all of these things, and what really resonated for me in her new book. Thank you, Liz, for the great information!
Liz O'Donnell shares about:
How Liz's experience with caring for her parents and managing work and family inspired her to write her book
The ways we can move to acceptance in our caregiving
How do we go from victim to boss and define the "caregivers gain"
How we determine what needs come first and where we invest our time
What is taking place in the workplace and how we can advocate for support
The impact caregiving has on the workforce
The implicit bias that occurs in caregiving
How we can be involved in making change for working caregivers
All about Working Daughters Day
Learn more at WorkingDaughter.com
About Liz O'Donnell & Working Daughter
Liz O’Donnell is the founder of Working Daughter, a community for women balancing eldercare, career, and more. An award-winning writer, her book, Working Daughter: A Guide to Caring for Your Aging Parents While Earning A Living, was named one of the Best Books of the Year by Library Journal. In 2020, she launched National Working Daughters Day which is celebrated annually on the third Tuesday in November.
A former family caregiver she is a recognized expert on working while caregiving. The AARP says, “Few understand family caregivers as well as Liz.” She has written on the topic for many outlets including The Atlantic and Harvard Business Review. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Oprah Magazine, and Health. Liz works with companies like Transamerica and Cigna to create programs in support of working caregivers.
Her first book, Mogul, Mom & Maid: The Balancing Act of the Modern Woman, which looks at the impact of women’s personal lives on their careers, was an Amazon bestseller. She is also a contributor to Managing Your Career, a Harvard Business Review press book for working parents.
A long-time marketing executive and working mother, she is also active in her community and committed to supporting other women. Liz is a member of her town’s Finance and Warrant Committee and a former Town Meeting Member. She cofounded SheStarts, an organization for women entrepreneurs, and Women In Democracy-Dedham, a non-partisan group that seeks to engage more women in local politics.
Connect with Liz:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz3point0/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/workingdaughter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LizODTweets
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WDTweeting
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workingdaughter/
*This episode is brought to you by Gigi Betty co. A boutique gift shop raising awareness and funds for caregivers and care partners. Show now at www.gigibettyco.com. Use the special code WILLGATHER20 for 20% off your order- Just for our podcast listeners!
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Nicole Will is our host and founder of willGather.