Husband’s appreciation post for wife juggling office and kitchen duties starts debate online

Himanshu Bhagat shared a photo of his wife multitasking (Image credit: himanshubhagat/LinkedIn)

The pandemic and its ensuing lockdown put the focus on work-life balance like never before. For many, working from home came as a blessing with more flexibility and extra free time at hand. But studies after studies showed that women bore the brunt of extra household chores that came over and above their office work during the pandemic.

A picture shared on LinkedIn has renewed the debate around work-life balance and the pandemic’s toll on working women. Himanshu Bhagat shared a photo of his wife typing away at her laptop while standing in the kitchen. “This is my wife Nikita Bhagat being a ninja,” he wrote.

Bhagat said his wife was prepping for a meeting, reviewing the work done by her team, chopping onions and making tea. She did this managing a five-month-old puppy and, at times, a husband. “While I get to sit in a closed room to focus on my work and meetings - she does all of that effortlessly. Like many other women. Wives. Moms,” wrote Bhagat, a marketing professional.

“And yea, this is pretty recent - the new normal. Just appreciating. And wondering how!” he said.

“Male privilege exists and we dudes do get things easy quite a few times. Let us be more appreciative and pitch in where we can,” he concluded his post. But if Bhagat meant to share an appreciation post for his wife, popular opinion on LinkedIn indicated he failed at it. Many LinkedIn users pointed out that instead of taking photos, Bhagat could have offered to pitch in to show his appreciation for his wife.

While several LinkedIn users said they loved the post and thanked Bhagat for shining a spotlight on the issue of work life balance, others were more critical.

“This should neither be celebrated nor normalised. We (women) are guilty of trying and doing things that give normalcy to unreliastic expectations,” wrote one commenter.

“This shouldn’t be the ‘new normal’. Women don’t want this juggling routine,” another said.

“A post with you helping her in the chores would've set a better example and I'm sure you do help,” a LinkedIn user said in the comments section, to which Bhagat responded: “Then I would be branded as narcissist and unappreciative of women's efforts. Thanks but no.”