Stay or Leave? Why That's the Wrong Question — with WorkMom's Mel Goodman

About this episode

This episode discusses the challenges working moms face in making career decisions and offers insights on redefining success and exploring various career options.

If you've ever felt trapped between staying in your career or walking away entirely — this episode is for you. We're back with returning guest Mel Goodman of Work Mom, and we're going deeper than our first conversation about the mental load. Today we're tackling the question so many moms are quietly asking right now: do I stay or do I go? And Mel's here to tell you why that binary is keeping you stuck. In this episode we cover: • Why you can't make a sound career decision when you're in a state of depletion — and what to do first • The 12 career options (yes, 12) that working moms actually have, organized into 6 clusters • What a "portfolio career" is and why it might be the bridge so many in-between moms are looking for • Fractional work, job sharing, consulting — what they really require and if they're right for you • The identity load: why leaving corporate feels like losing yourself • What it means to "redefine success" in your current role without quitting • The 3 questions every overwhelmed working mom should sit with right now Mel also responds to a listener message about using AI as a life coach to work through the constant oscillation between career…

People in this episode

Host: We'll Sleep When We're Dead

Guest: Mel Goodman

Topics covered

• career decisions
• working moms
• mental load
• portfolio career
• redefining success
• identity load

Keywords

• career options
• working moms
• mental load
• portfolio career
• identity load
• redefine success
• job sharing
• consulting

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Work Mom

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