Going back to work after taking parental leave is often heavily dreaded among working parents. There is the worry of ensuring child care has been properly arranged, and that little tinge of sadness you feel when you say goodbye to your little baby as you leave for work.
Mark Zuckerberg demonstrates at least one way to reduce some of the stress – don’t worry about your outfit.
Zuckerberg returns to work after taking a two-month paternity leave after the birth of his daughter, Max.
First day back after paternity leave. What should I wear? Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, 25 January 2016
He is well known for always donning a grey T-shirt, and when asked about it during a Q&A session, he said, “I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything, except how to best serve this community”.
Other well-known figures such as President Barack Obama have adopted this habit as well. President Obama said before that he usually wears grey or blue suits for work which help him to “focus [his] decision-making energy”. Apple founder, Steve Jobs, well known for wearing his black turtle neck, is one of the many figures who follow this habit.
The key idea of this is to spend less time thinking about non important decisions, and to focus your mental energy on the important things. Research has shown that decision-making abilities decrease overtime, as you are forced to make more decisions. This is known as ‘decision fatigue’.
Mothers, on the other hand, may have different postpartum issues to deal with, such as finding a location and a time during work to pump their breast milk. Returning to work may prove a bit more challenging for us as our closets would probably be filled with maternity wear and other baggy clothing.
How nice would it be to be able to wear the same thing to work every day, and to reduce the time spent every morning thinking about which dress would best match my Kate Spade bag, and to spend it over breakfast instead with my children.
News source: Huffington Post
Mums and Dads, would you wear the same outfit every day if given the chance to? Share with us in the comments below!