Working mom leaves house at 7.20am, her ‘sad’ realization breaks hearts

A working mom’s plea for more help balancing a career and time spent at home with her children has broken hearts across the internet.

Ashleigh Hardaker (@ashhh1501x), a 30-year-old HR adviser, shared how her daily routine means she only gets to spend around an hour and a half with her 1-year-old daughter, River, in a short clip on TikTok.  

The text overlay read: “How are we meant to do this?!” In the caption, she petitioned for more help for working moms with young children. “It made me sad,” she added. 

Hardaker, who is also mom to 5-year-old Roman, told Newsweek she feels the “mom guilt” on a daily basis.  

“I obviously go to work for my kids, but I just wish I didn’t have to so I could spend more time with them and be more present,” she said. “I feel, because I have to work, my evenings are so rushed doing the evening routine and getting them washed and put to bed.” 

While some days she commutes and others she’s at home, the pressure of balancing both spheres rarely eases. 

When asked what kind of help she would benefit from, Hardaker said she wasn’t calling for anything radical—just a recognition that the structure of modern working life is fundamentally misaligned with family life. 

School hours stretching from 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., 86 days of annual school holidays and only 25 days of annual leave for full-time workers is the reality for most UK parents.  

“In addition to that, the school plays, ‘stay and plays’, school trips that most parents aren’t allowed to get the time off to attend just adds to the mom guilt,” Hardaker said. “I would love to see more roles, especially for working moms where the hours accommodate school hours. These are so hard to find.” 

Her TikTok clip has racked up over 87,000 views and counting. In the comments, many other parents agreed with Hardaker’s frustration.  

“It’s not normal, they want us to be out the house and not raise our kids, it’s sad,” one user wrote.  

“I go back to work in March and I’m absolutely not ready for this,” another added.  

A mom who went part-time shared that she made less money than the cost of child care for the two days she no longer works.

“It’s heartbreaking,” another mom agreed. “Nothing will ever beat the feeling of being with you for her even for that little hour.” 

While the solidarity was comforting, Hardaker received some criticism on social media. “I have had the odd person say, ‘Get a job in a school then’ or ‘Don’t work’. It’s not easily done,” she said. 

“I’ve worked hard to be where I am in my career, and I love my job,” Hardaker continued. “To be quite honest, I just couldn’t live without my salary. I often wonder how stay-at-home moms get by because life is just so expensive.”