Why Mia Freedman doesn’t strive for balance

For Mia Freedman, honesty comes naturally — and her new book aims to use her propensity for oversharing to help other women.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with Mia Freedman at the launch of her new book 'Work Strife Balance' on May 26. Pictures: John Feder

• Freedman’s son pens a chapter for her new book
• Malcolm Turnbull speaks about work/life balance

For Mia Freedman, honesty comes naturally — and her new book aims to use her propensity for oversharing to help other women.

The co-founder and creative director of the Mamamia media company will visit The Hills next week to discuss her new book, ‘Work Strife Balance’.

The book, Freedman’s third, reassures women that it is okay not to have it all, do it all and be it all at all times — and most importantly, that they are not alone in the struggle of chasing the elusive ‘work/life balance’.

“Women tend to think ‘it’s just me’,” she said.

As Freedman writes on the very first page of the book: “My objective in writing so personally is to be helpful to other women because I know from experience that the best way to do this is with honesty.”

The book includes anecdotes, lists and letters to her children, written with the honesty and wit that Freedman’s fans have come to love.

“Work-life balance is like thigh gaps,” she writes.

“It’s yet another rotten external pressure women are putting on ourselves.

“Another impossible standard against which we’re measuring ourselves and our lives.”

Lisa Wilkinson, Mia Freedman, Leigh Sales and Julia Baird at Freedman's book launch.

The book’s launch, held in Surry Hills recently, was attended by none other than Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull who talked about the need for flexible workplaces and said work/life balance was an issue for both men and women.

“I think the important lesson here for men, speaking as a man, as your local member, is the reminder that all of us are in it together,” he said.

“All of us, men and women, owe it to each other to support each other.”

Having the Prime Minister at the launch was a “pinch me” moment for Freedman.

“It was quite surreal but really wonderful at the same time,” she said.

Freedman, who runs a business with 99 per cent female staff, agreed with the need for more flexible workplaces.

“We have to get past the idea that someone sitting in a desk means they’re working and if you can’t see them as an employer you’re not getting value for money,” she said.

“We have to measure them by their output.”

Freedman said while working away from the office would not work for every role, workplaces needed to explore supportive options.

“... It’s a real education process for employers, myself included, to learn how to support your staff, particularly your women if you want them to stay and want them to be happy,” she said.

Freedman said women “do bare the brunt of the caring in our community” and have to constantly “triage” to prioritise everything that needs their attention at any one time.

Some of the Mamamia employees with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Mia Freedman.

“It’s impossible to ignore the fact that there are way more demands placed on women,” she said.

As Freedman discusses in ‘Work Strife Balance’ — and as was highlighted by Annabel Crabb in her book ‘The Wife Drought’ — until society changes its expectations of men’s roles, it will be harder for women to change theirs.

“Until people don’t act shocked or surprised or snigger when a dad wants to go part time in his career or has to leave a meeting to go pick up a child, until that is so standard it’s not worth commenting, it’s hard to see that it’s going to get easier for women,” Freedman said.

‘Work Strife Balance’ traverses everything from mental health issues to Botox, bad career choices to selfies, and miscarriages to shop-bought birthday cakes in a way only Freedman can and shows women that, despite heavily filtered photos on Instagram of beautiful, skinny women with kale smoothies and perfectly behaved children indicating otherwise, they are doing life just fine.

Or as Freedman succinctly writes, “balance is bullsh*t”.

■ Freedman will discuss her new book ‘Work Strife Balance’ at Vinegar Hill Memorial Library, 29 Main St, Rouse Hill, on Wednesday, June 14, from 7pm-8pm. Book tickets here