As any new parent knows, children do not come with instruction manuals and navigating life as a new parent is especially difficult while simultaneously trying to show your commitment to work. Unfortunately, this is something that is not often understood until you join the ranks of parenthood.

When I graduated college and started my first job, I usually worked past five and jumped at every opportunity to travel and attend evening functions. Looking back, I now realize I subconsciously judged female colleagues who left meetings early to pick up children from daycare or questioned the validity of these women needing to stay home when a child was sick.

The table turned on me when I gave birth to my own child two years ago.

Although leaving my son at daycare the first day after maternity leave was extremely hard, I always knew I wanted to go back to work and never once thought about being a stay-at-home mom.

But I also found myself in the awkward position of being the person I used to judge. In a world that tells us to “Lean In,” which I very much try to do, there is the inevitable reality that someone still needs to be picked up at daycare by five. While my tenured colleagues knew my pre-child devotion to the job, I worried that newer colleagues (both male and female) may not have known all the extra hours and travel I put in before I became a mother.

It made me realize how little we really know about our colleagues and what they may be going through in their own lives. While the generational gap in the workplace has been a hot topic in recent years, bridging the “life stage” divide does not always receive as much attention.

Consider your own place of employment for a moment. You most likely have female colleagues in all stages of life, from recent college graduates to empty-nesters needing to care for elderly parents. Balancing work and life can be a daunting task, especially for women in the workforce who still bear the brunt of child-rearing in today’s society.

As women find themselves in various life stages, they are not actually working less than their younger counterparts, perhaps just differently. For me, there are many nights where I fire up the laptop after putting my son to bed. I still love to travel and attend evening functions, it just takes a little more pre-planning.   

Some women are young and anxious to prove their ability, some women choose to be working moms, some women choose to stay home with their children, some women have grown children that no longer live with them, and some women choose not to have kids at all. All of these are okay, and it is up to each of us to support each other, regardless of what life stage we are passing through.