Malt-O-Meal Survey Shows Moms are Burnt Out, Multitasking Amid the Pandemic

LAKEVILLE, Minn., May 27, 2020 – Since the beginning of the pandemic, an overwhelming 95% of moms are multitasking, for an average of nearly 8 hours a day, which means moms are squeezing in at least a whole extra day’s work every single day. This data is among the findings from a new national Malt-O-Meal® “Moms Need a Break!” survey conducted by Wakefield Research. Long a champion of moms, the Malt-O-Meal (MOM) brand of ready-to-eat cereals created the survey to understand how the pandemic is affecting moms and their outlook in the coming months.

The survey also found:

More work taking a toll: More than half of U.S. moms (55%) have seen their workloads increase at home for nearly 9 in 10 (89%), that increase has taken a toll on their well-being. More than 3 in 5 moms (61%) report feeling more stressed, 48% are more anxious, 46% worry more often, 27% get sad more often and 26% are easier to anger.
No “me” time: With added responsibilities as teachers, coaches, playmates, short-order cooks and more, moms are finding it hard to make time to care for themselves. Nearly a third (32%) say that they only have one hour a day for self-care. And more than 1 in 8 moms (13%) say that they have no time for self-care at all.
Running on empty: When asked about the ways they are destressing, 60% of moms say they are binge-watching TV or movies, 43% are eating more, 38% are exercising, 35% are sleeping more, 35% are baking more, 24% are drinking more and 24% are crafting more. But 7% of moms haven’t had a chance to destress at all since the outbreak’s beginning.
Avoidance tactics: Moms are finding it so difficult to take a moment to themselves that they’re resorting to desperate measures. Nearly half of all moms (48%) say that they have avoided or hidden from their children in order to get some time to relax. For moms working from home, that number increases to 61%.
Stressed to the max: And moms’ emotional well-being isn’t going to improve as they continue to worry about the world around them. Top contributors to moms’ stress and burnout include finances (33%), home-schooling (32%), feeling isolated from friends and family (28%), health and wellness (19%), and work (18%).
But still loving their kids to the max: Despite all of the hardships and extra time spent with their kids since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, 69% of moms say that changing 100 dirty diapers a week would be worse than continuing to shelter in place with their kids all summer. Even though being a mom is really, really hard right now, there’s nothing like being there for your kids.

“It’s clear that moms are burnt out and in need of a much-deserved break,” said Jessica Wobschall, Senior Brand Manager of Malt-O-Meal, and mother of two with another on the way. “As a brand that has been there for moms for over 100 years, we wanted our survey to draw attention to the job of being a mom, which for many has expanded significantly right now, and find some way to provide a little relief.”

MOM TO THE RESCUE

To honor all of the important and extra work moms across the country are doing right now, Malt-O-Meal is giving away $30,000 worth of personalized gifts to moms (two $500 gifts each day for 30 days), plus Malt-O-Meal cereal for each winner’s pantry, via a “MOM to the Rescue” social contest on the brand’s Facebook and Instagram pages.