Case Studies

Results from the Switch Workshop for Working Mothers

Case 1: How Personality can Improve Job Performance

Jane has a partner and a 2 year old daughter. When Jane was offered a promotion at work she and her partner decided that for financial reasons it would be best to except the new opportunity and that he would stay at home to be a full-time dad. However, along with an increase in salary, a full-time job and more challenging tasks came also more responsibility and high expectations. When Jane came along to the Switch Workshop for Working Mothers, she was quite stressed for working long hours and feeling lack of confidence in her performance at work. This affected the relationship with her partner as well as her patience with her daughter and the quality time she could spend with her. Guilt of not fulfilling her own expectations to be a good mother added to the existing stress and depression. Jane was already on medication.

At the workshop Jane discovered her personality traits. Being usually very detail focused and methodical – in her previous role a strength – now started to get in the way as she tried to be overly thorough in her ambition to do her job well, but thus needing more time than available to complete required tasks. She learnt about the characteristics of different personality traits and discovered who she needed to be and what she could do in order to get the job done more efficiently. For the next week after the session, she stood back, looked at her current thoughts and actions, and set herself some goals. She temporarily put on a ‘different hat’ that suited her better for what she needed to do.

The following week Jane came back to the workshop with a big smile on her face and shared her success with the class. Within a short time she had prepared a corporate presentation which would have normally taken her a month to do. The management was very impressed and Jane was proud of her accomplishment. She now feels she can leave work behind when going home and can enjoy quality time with her family rather than being stressed and absent minded about any incomplete work let behind. “It made such a difference. I feel confident at work and happy coming home now. The pressure is off and I can really enjoy spending time with my daughter. My partner noticed the difference, too.”

Well done, Jane. Keep it up!

Case 2: Improve Relationship / Marriage

Anna is married and has a little daughter. Recently her husband lost his job and as Anna was in a well paid and secure job and as day care is not an option, they both decided it best if Anna increased her work hours and her husband would stay at home to look after their child. However, guilt spending less time with her daughter lead to emotional conflict between herself and her husband. The relationship began to suffer. Being a gentle, quiet and considerate person, Anna did not open up to share her feelings with her husband. The gap between the couple increased. At the first workshop session Anna’s awareness was raised about her life in general and the relationship problem in particular. She looked more closely at what was currently working and what wasn’t and as part of the workshop goal setting homework decided to address the relationship.

When it was her turn to share her goals, actions and outcome with the group, the entire classroom was mesmerized and emotional when listening to her story. Anna had set some time aside to have quality time with her husband. She communicated openly and shared her thoughts and feelings. While doing so she also discovered that her husband had his similar issues to deal with. They both re-connected and discovered that they still could share that “same special feeling we used to have before we had children”.

Comment by Gabriele: When I started running the Switch Workshop I never thought that it could have the role of marriage counseling. It’s wonderful to be part of a client’s journey to happiness.

Case 3:  Empowered vs. Depression – Work Life Balance, Happiness and Success

Vanessa is married and has two young school age children. She recently retrained to become a teacher and had high ambitions and hopes for her new career. However, her new job turned out to be very far from the dream she had. Vanessa was working long hours to get things done, struggled to bond with the children in the classroom, didn’t get the results she had hoped for, and felt overwhelmed coming home to more work and responsibilities. Vanessa didn’t have enough time for her own children, e.g. homework and quality time, as she had to juggle the usual housework duties in addition to of her long work hours.

When she came along to the workshop she was very stressed, overwhelmed, de-motivated, and felt like a failure at work and as a mum. Feelings of guilt being a ‘bad’ mother, not performing to her own (and perceived others) expectations, and being unable to control her life in general led to depression, a feeling of helplessness and the beginning of drinking. “I am desperate, I really need this course”, she said when enrolling for the workshop.

During the sessions Vanessa learned how to communicate with the children on a different level. She became aware of her own communication style, her personality, thoughts and values, and discovered that she had too many expectations of herself. One thing that struck her was that she constantly had to stop to look at herself and her own needs rather than just caring for other people’s.

When I met Vanessa a few months after the workshop, she was a totally different person, radiant, confident and bubbling with excitement. Her voice was powerful and she sounded happy. “It’s all working. I’ve got it all under control now. I finish work on time and I’ve got time to do homework with my children. I take them to the zoo, the museum or other places to have fun.” When I asked her what caused the major shift, she said: “The one thing I learned from the workshop is that I’ve got to put myself first. I come home, drop my bag and go for a run. So what if some of the housework has to wait? I am a better mother for it. My children are happy. They get more time with me. That’s more important than vacuuming every day. It is also important to constantly look at my values in relation to myself, e.g. how much I trust/love ‘myself’ versus others. That really stuck with me.”

Comment by Gabriele: Vanessa is the living proof that coaching works and that once you’re aware of your true self you’ve got the power to move forward, you’re in charge. Fantastic, Vanessa, keep it up. I am so proud of you.

Case 4:  Effective Leadership

Bronwyn works for a large organisation which was undergoing massive restructuring. Tension was high as the staff didn’t know whether they could keep their job. Everybody had to re-apply. A high number of people had been working in the same role for a long time and felt they that re-applying was a waste of time. They also didn’t  feel confident with the process of writing effective CVs and didn’t even want to do it.

As a team leader, responsible for her staff and having been given a deadline by the management, Bronwyn started to get stressed and frustrated as she struggled to get her staff to commit writing their CV and application. Her emotional imbalance was carried over to home and affected her family life.

Bronwyn attended the workshop which the organisation offered it’s staff as a stress relief tool. She discovered that being a very focused ‘big picture’ thinker and ‘get-on-with-it’ type of person, she would benefit switching hats. As part of  her weekly workshop homework and goal setting, she decided to  change tactics at work. She took on the personality characteristics of a more empathic, patient and caring leader, sat down with each of the staff and assisted them in writing their CV. “It was a real challenge to be so different to my natural being. But it was worth it. They all got it done. They felt really supported. It helped to build trust and bonding. I can relax that I achieved my goal and the organisation’s expectations of the team.” Success of accomplishment also created inner peace and resulted in being able to switch off from work when Bronwyn came home so she could enjoy uninterrupted quality time with her son.

Comment by Gabriele: Congratulation, Bronwyn. Great accomplishment! Well done!

Case Study 5:  Improve Happiness and Relationships through Self Awareness

Anne and her husband work full time: Anne’s husband as an account, Anne as a hotel manager. In addition Anne is studying hotel management. Being a committed netball player and coach in her free time, and having a 5-year old boy demanding attention, life is very busy. Despite tremendous support from her husband with housework and the freedom to dedicate herself 3 times per week to netball games, Anne felt unhappy in her marriage and with her life in general. Her husband nagging about her spending too much time on the netball court, leaving him to do the cooking, dishes, washing, and cleaning built resentment on both sides.

The workshop was a complete eye opener for Anne. The homework preparation for the stress session together with an in-class brainstorming exercise (listing chores causing overwhelm and stress), made Anne realise for the first time how lucky she was having such a supportive husband.  “I only spend 3 hours a week playing netball” was her defense to her husband nagging and complaints.  But looking at the long list of chores, how little she was involved, how little she supported her husband and how much time she really had for herself, she realised: “My god, I don’t do any of that. How selfish have I been all the time. It’s all about me. I realise how much time I do really have for myself.” As a result, she was determined to make a drastic change and set herself the goal to take on some chores.

The following week’s feedback was fantastic: “It’s been a really good week. I realise I’ve been the problem all along. Last week I took charge. I vacuumed, did the dishes, folded the washing, and cooked dinner every night. My boy loved the food. I feel so much better for it. My whole family is happy. My own happiness rubbed off. I feel the housework is my stress relief. I was stressed NOT doing something. It also rubbed off at work. I did a complete office clean out, something I’d been procrastinating for a long time. I will leave the place tidy and clear for the next person taking over. I think, by getting rid of all the stuff, I also got rid of the stress. I am really happy.” Looking ahead, Anne thinks that now the relationship between her and her husband will improve, too. There was no complaining and nagging about certain things he normally would go on about.

Comment by Gabriele: What a great result. Well done Anne. Great to see the new radiant YOU.