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Work Pause Thrive: How to Pause for Parenthood Without Killing Your Career
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384 pages, Hardcover
Published January 31, 2017
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635 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 3, 2017
This isn't a read for fun or entertainment type of book, this is a BOO-YAH for women type of book. This is the kind of book that makes you want to be more, do more, say more, experience more, and support other women MORE. I walked away from this book thinking that despite the fact that my own personal pause was not about raising children, it was about establishing my family and finding myself. And if that's not a good reason for a pause and I don't know what is.
There are so many quotable lines in this book but my favorite is "a pause is a temporary reframing of one's priorities to place the personal before the professional." This perfectly describes the pause I took in my own professional life.
Stromberg close her book out with a Manifesto, a call to greatness from the countries that we live in. One that will bring greater equality, and allow ALL its citizens the right and opportunity to pause when needed, so that we may ALL Thrive to our greatest potential! And that is a manifesto I can get behind!
There are so many quotable lines in this book but my favorite is "a pause is a temporary reframing of one's priorities to place the personal before the professional." This perfectly describes the pause I took in my own professional life.
Stromberg close her book out with a Manifesto, a call to greatness from the countries that we live in. One that will bring greater equality, and allow ALL its citizens the right and opportunity to pause when needed, so that we may ALL Thrive to our greatest potential! And that is a manifesto I can get behind!
December 13, 2016
In her book, Lisen provides much needed insight into the opportunities and challenges of pausing a career for motherhood.
It's chock full of inspirational stories of women who made different choices about their career and motherhood, along with survey data that Lisen collected as part of her research for the book. And I enjoyed the way Lisen wove her personal experience into the narrative, bringing even more life to the data and stories.
I bet it will become a go-to book for a generation of women who want to approach their careers and motherhood in a thoughtful way.
It's chock full of inspirational stories of women who made different choices about their career and motherhood, along with survey data that Lisen collected as part of her research for the book. And I enjoyed the way Lisen wove her personal experience into the narrative, bringing even more life to the data and stories.
I bet it will become a go-to book for a generation of women who want to approach their careers and motherhood in a thoughtful way.
November 1, 2019
I couldn't finish this book. It's too one-sided and simply cliche. The author explains why it is ok for WOMEN to pause or switch their careers to focus on young children. I get it. We all should do our best to destigmatize career breaks/pauses and encourage folks not to be afraid to prioritize their family and children but... what about men? Shouldn't we encourage society to perceive parenthood as a task equally shared by men and women?! Hundreds of women were interviewed for this book. Did the author interview even a single man to get his thoughts on career breaks/pauses? Or is the author implying that it is not ok for men to pause their careers, so women should do it instead? I'm a profesionally active woman and it bothers me immensely that the debate around parenthood and career in the US more often than not does not involve men at all...
Ugh.
Ugh.
January 1, 2021
The best time to read this book is before you have kids, so you can try to plan your career path to accommodate your actual life. For me, as a mother of three, taking my first actual ‘pause� due to covid, everything rang familiar about how mothers and caretakers are treated in the workplace. I wish I’d planned my life better, but at least I have hope that a pause will not completely mess up my career. It was also good to get concrete action ideas for how to change the workplace and support other parents. Especially mothers, but any parent or person who is caring for children or other family members.
March 7, 2017
Work Pause Thrive is not the type of book that I would normally read, yet I still found it enjoyable. In these pages, author Lisen Stromberg discusses the difficulties professional women have finding a work-life balance not just on a personal level but on a systematic level.
While I'm not sure if Ms. Stromberg identifies as a feminist or even intended for her book to have a feminist tone, it often does. As she picks apart the shortcomings of the American dream and our work-work-work attitude, the author doesn't just illustrate how this works against mothers. Time and again, Ms. Stromberg is able to paint a picture of how our current line of thinking and failures at both the corporate and governmental levels create needless difficulties for fathers, too.
Yet these people, these women are able to forge ahead. Thanks to the Women on the Rise survey, the author had a chance to see how 1,5000 women managed to find that balance, even if it meant pausing their careers. More often than not, Lisen found that those pauses were not career killers. Rather, they allowed women to refocus and, in many cases, discover what they truly wanted to do professionally.
In Work Pause Thrive, the author is firm in her beliefs of services and support we should be providing to mothers (and families), but she is also quick to point out how doing so is in the company's (and country's) best interest, too.
I found her case to be compelling, the similarities between so many respondents to be eye-opening and some of the results to be disappointing. If you're a businesswoman and a mother, you might find Work Pause Thrive to be helpful and reassuring. And if you're a business owner, work in HR or want to establish government policy, you might benefit from reading this book, too.
I received a free copy of Work PAUSE Thrive in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
While I'm not sure if Ms. Stromberg identifies as a feminist or even intended for her book to have a feminist tone, it often does. As she picks apart the shortcomings of the American dream and our work-work-work attitude, the author doesn't just illustrate how this works against mothers. Time and again, Ms. Stromberg is able to paint a picture of how our current line of thinking and failures at both the corporate and governmental levels create needless difficulties for fathers, too.
Yet these people, these women are able to forge ahead. Thanks to the Women on the Rise survey, the author had a chance to see how 1,5000 women managed to find that balance, even if it meant pausing their careers. More often than not, Lisen found that those pauses were not career killers. Rather, they allowed women to refocus and, in many cases, discover what they truly wanted to do professionally.
In Work Pause Thrive, the author is firm in her beliefs of services and support we should be providing to mothers (and families), but she is also quick to point out how doing so is in the company's (and country's) best interest, too.
I found her case to be compelling, the similarities between so many respondents to be eye-opening and some of the results to be disappointing. If you're a businesswoman and a mother, you might find Work Pause Thrive to be helpful and reassuring. And if you're a business owner, work in HR or want to establish government policy, you might benefit from reading this book, too.
I received a free copy of Work PAUSE Thrive in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
March 1, 2017
I wish I'd had this before I had gotten pregnant (the first OR second time!) I would have seen that there could have been other options to pause and stay home with my kids - even not for years, but a few months longer than I did. I enjoyed the real stories, the real scenarios outlined in the book. I feel more optimistic about having a career should I step back for some time - or baby there's an alternate career. Life doesn't have to end when you have kids, and your work life doesn't have to end if you choose to focus on family first. I like that the book also focuses on dads staying home to focus on children. The book also bring up flexible work places and schedules, which is helpful to those of us who are not at a point to completely give up a current career.
March 3, 2017
I had a tough time when my son was born in the workforce. I was severely underpaid and daycare costs ate up most of my salary. This book helped me watch someone successful break it down very simply for how to truly have a career that THRIVES. I was most impressed with the different personality traits that certain women workers display, and I found her research to be interesting. I felt inspired and knew that I had made the right decision to take some time off before returning to the workforce.
March 2, 2017
This book is a must-read for any parent who is struggling between their career and raising a family. Lisen Stromberg expertly intertwines personal narrative alongside strategies for taking the time to PAUSE your career to be with your children. Using research and data, Stromberg explains how pausing on your own terms can not only bring personal satisfaction but also professional gains.
(I received a free copy of Work PAUSE Thrive in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.)
(I received a free copy of Work PAUSE Thrive in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.)
August 15, 2017
Disclaimer: This book is geared more towards women who more often than not, have a support system in place to "pause" and are career ambitious. It does touch on ideas for women who "have" to work but would rather stay home and care for family but this isn't the book for someone who is trying to get out of working all together and wants to stay home 24-7 and never go back to work. It's a book for those who would like to try to balance both family and career whether they want to or have to. I would recommend it for anyone who has career ambitions and wants to work, as well as, those who have to work and are trying to find ways to balance work/family rather than constantly thinking of ways to get out of working and being a family caregiver 100%.
One improvement: There are A LOT of typos and errors. Don't know if this is a draft to see what feedback the author gets or the final copy. But it really does need to be run by an editor again. That's why I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars.
This was an eye-opening read about the struggles both women and men face with balancing childcare needs and workplace expectations.
The main premise is that if as a country we proclaim that families are important, we sure don't show in our workplace actions and government policies towards helping women be both caregivers and contributors to the economic, technological and financial advancements of the country. That in order for our country to compete with others, we need to be helping not hindering women from being both. However, our country doesn't. It points to Scandinavian countries that give a year's maternity, and sometimes also paternity, leave to parents so they can focus on bonding with their children so they can focus on building the family bond and then when they do come back to work, are more emotionally and mentally ready to focus on there work. Sounds like a great solution for our stressed out and depressed work force, too. We can't work our work force to the pulp like in the industrial revolution age, anymore. It's creating repercussions that are causing more harm to our society than good. "Of course we want more women in leadership. But if it means the women who get there don't have the personal motivation or the institutional support to create inclusive cultures, then nothing will really change for working families. We need leaders who are committed to making the workplace work for families so that men who want to care for their children or women who want to care for their parents or mothers who want to (or have to) care for both have the flexibility to do so without risking their careers and their financial well-being."
One improvement: There are A LOT of typos and errors. Don't know if this is a draft to see what feedback the author gets or the final copy. But it really does need to be run by an editor again. That's why I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars.
This was an eye-opening read about the struggles both women and men face with balancing childcare needs and workplace expectations.
The main premise is that if as a country we proclaim that families are important, we sure don't show in our workplace actions and government policies towards helping women be both caregivers and contributors to the economic, technological and financial advancements of the country. That in order for our country to compete with others, we need to be helping not hindering women from being both. However, our country doesn't. It points to Scandinavian countries that give a year's maternity, and sometimes also paternity, leave to parents so they can focus on bonding with their children so they can focus on building the family bond and then when they do come back to work, are more emotionally and mentally ready to focus on there work. Sounds like a great solution for our stressed out and depressed work force, too. We can't work our work force to the pulp like in the industrial revolution age, anymore. It's creating repercussions that are causing more harm to our society than good. "Of course we want more women in leadership. But if it means the women who get there don't have the personal motivation or the institutional support to create inclusive cultures, then nothing will really change for working families. We need leaders who are committed to making the workplace work for families so that men who want to care for their children or women who want to care for their parents or mothers who want to (or have to) care for both have the flexibility to do so without risking their careers and their financial well-being."
November 28, 2017
"All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much time of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence" - Bronnie Ware
Chapter 6's Men Want A Place in the Home was a refreshing read. My father was a workaholic and I vowed to be more involved in my kids' lives.
Stromberg talks about a self-made Hedge Fund manager taking time off to be a Dad. Not really relatable, but good to see even the wealthy willing to walk away from it all. She advocates for a world that isn't. One where managers put employees ahead of shareholders. It won't happen without a change from capitalism or government mandated rules. This is a society issue and if we want change we have to self fund companies that behave differently. It is clear that the rank and file are miserable and yearn to be better parents in a society that rewards bad parenting.
She quotes Millennial Men as saying that there has been a 17% drop in men who want their wives to stay home to raise their kids. Inwouldn't call this progress as much as the fact that these.men were the product of working single mom households. The statistic that today's man is more likely to want to stay at home wasn't surprising in a world that wants equality across genders. She ends the chapter with a quote "It's not fair to limit the lives of men when we demand more for women" true, but to what end.
Chapter 6's Men Want A Place in the Home was a refreshing read. My father was a workaholic and I vowed to be more involved in my kids' lives.
Stromberg talks about a self-made Hedge Fund manager taking time off to be a Dad. Not really relatable, but good to see even the wealthy willing to walk away from it all. She advocates for a world that isn't. One where managers put employees ahead of shareholders. It won't happen without a change from capitalism or government mandated rules. This is a society issue and if we want change we have to self fund companies that behave differently. It is clear that the rank and file are miserable and yearn to be better parents in a society that rewards bad parenting.
She quotes Millennial Men as saying that there has been a 17% drop in men who want their wives to stay home to raise their kids. Inwouldn't call this progress as much as the fact that these.men were the product of working single mom households. The statistic that today's man is more likely to want to stay at home wasn't surprising in a world that wants equality across genders. She ends the chapter with a quote "It's not fair to limit the lives of men when we demand more for women" true, but to what end.
March 22, 2019
I liked the premise of the book and part 1 was the most useful: outlining the three types of pauses and pros/cons of each. It also gave me more confidence in considering such possibilities rather than powering through full time. However, I full out skipped part 2 and skimmed part 3, after trying to read it for months, so in that sense the book just got too dense and really dragged on after part 1. Served its purpose for me but not in the most efficient way.
January 14, 2021
Such a wonderful book in a time when so much focus is on work and juggling parenthood. It’a okay to pivot your career or take a break. I recommend this to all parents, not just women about the importance of family and that work isn’t everything and that you can change work to be even better. Lots of great examples of how women have done this. Highly recommend this for anyone stuck between work and family and not sure how to juggle them both.
March 3, 2017
This book is geared toward women, but men could benefit from reading it as well. This is an important book for anybody trying to figure out how to manage work, family and life. It's packed with practical advice and shows how you can "pause" your career and successfully, get back in.
I received a free copy of Work PAUSE Thrive in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I received a free copy of Work PAUSE Thrive in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
July 8, 2017
I thought the research and data from secondary sources was interested. I wasn't too drawn to her findings from her own survey because, as she pointed out, a majority of the women were white and well off. I also found that the section which was supposed to be the "how to" really didn't offer much practical advice.
December 3, 2017
This book isn't for everyone. It is geared toward college-educated women who are fairly well off financially. The author is very upfront about it, to her credit. I would like to see more practical information in the book that digs deeper than just big picture ideas and factors to consider when shifting gears in your career. Overall, an easy read that it's written in a conversational tone.
April 11, 2018
I almost never review non-fiction here but this time I must say that this book really hit a home run in defining the struggle of working parents (not just moms). It’s not all or nothing. Finding balance requires Ingenuity and flexibility to create the non linear options that work for most families.
December 17, 2017
I received a copy of this book from a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ giveaway. I found this book easy to read and full of practical advice. This would be a good read for any one thinking about becoming a parent or just at the beginning or starting a family.
October 16, 2023
I love reading about how boomers and those before them were able to just stop working and attend to their children and families.
Yea� irrelevant as hell to anyone currently having kids living remotely close to a middle class life.
Put this book back.
Yea� irrelevant as hell to anyone currently having kids living remotely close to a middle class life.
Put this book back.
November 30, 2018
Better than I thought - is very encouraging of career, but focus is for the very privileged only.
July 26, 2024
This was hard to read because I was angry all the time. Awesome info though.
March 19, 2017
I won this in a GOODREADS giveaway. Work Pause Thrive: How to Pause for Parenthood Without Killing Your Career by Lisen Stromberg has well researched information mixed with personal experiences. I really expected it to be dry but it was amazingly motivational. I will be passing this on to a colleague who just announced her pregnancy.
February 22, 2017
I dove into this book with an open mind knowing that I would learn if only I wanted to. As i read i was captivated at how Lisen wove her own life story and experience into the facts and data she presented. Upon collecting data for this book Lisen interviewed 186 woman and surveyed almost 1,500 others all responded they never expected to take a career break, but ultimately did once children came into the picture. Those who stayed out of the workforce less than five years found re-entry easier than their counterparts who stayed out longer. I found that very interesting.
I also found the stories of working moms to be inspirational along the way. In the end after making my way through this book I came away with even more respect for working woman and the amount of balancing it takes to have both. Plus I feel that through the stories and with Lisen insight form her own experience this book will become one that both new moms and future moms can look to for help guidance.
I received a free copy of Work PAUSE Thrive in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own
I also found the stories of working moms to be inspirational along the way. In the end after making my way through this book I came away with even more respect for working woman and the amount of balancing it takes to have both. Plus I feel that through the stories and with Lisen insight form her own experience this book will become one that both new moms and future moms can look to for help guidance.
I received a free copy of Work PAUSE Thrive in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own
February 25, 2023
I liked the vocabulary it gave me to use when talking about my pause.
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December 19, 2017I won this book via Good Reads First Reads. I am an ECE administrator and I look forward to adding this book to our lending library for staff and parents at my school.
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August 31, 2018306.36 S9217 2017
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