A World Bank report titled *Care Economy in Indonesia: Pathways to Women’s Economic Participation and Well-being* reveals several work-related challenges faced by mothers who have worked after giving birth.
The World Bank notes that balancing work and childcare responsibilities can be challenging even for families with access to childcare, such as when children are sick or require close supervision for a period of time.
"Many of these mothers experienced frequent disruptions to their work during this period," the World Bank wrote in the report received by *Databoks* on Tuesday (4/9/2024).
53.1% of respondent mothers who work or have worked after giving birth informed their supervisors that they were unable to work when facing childcare arrangement issues.
In addition, there were changes in work hours. Specifically, 42.4% had to leave the office early, 40.1% reported arriving late, and 39.1% reduced their working hours.
(Read also: [Mothers Who Don't Work Are More Likely to Provide Exclusive Breastfeeding](https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2023/12/13/survei-bps-ibu-yang-tak-bekerja-lebih-banyak-beri-asi-eksklusif))
Many also felt disturbed or unproductive at work (37% of respondents). Even some respondent mothers brought their children to work when possible (36.8%).
This double burden of work and childcare also often led working mothers to quit their jobs (19.5%), receive reprimands or salary deductions (5.1%), lose their jobs (3.1%), change jobs within the same company (2%), or move to another company (1.7%).
Other issues accounted for 0.6%, while 19.5% reported facing no problems.
The World Bank states that strategies for addressing childcare arrangement challenges at work are similar across all child age groups and among urban and rural households.
"However, more mothers outside Java reported reduced working hours compared to those living in Java," said the World Bank.
This survey used multiple-answer options. The survey involved 1,149 mothers who have worked or are currently working in urban and rural areas of Indonesia.
(Read also: [Is 3 Months of Maternity Leave Enough? Public Opinion](https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2024/05/13/apakah-cuti-melahirkan-3-bulan-sudah-cukup-ini-pandangan-masyarakat))