Since the inception of a non-racial, non-sexist democracy in South Africa in 1994, it is not surprising to find many mothers have entered various professional fields and occupations. "The influx of women into the workforce, the economic necessity of two-income families, the increase in single-parent families, child care and elder care availability and affordability, and increased time pressure have all contributed to work and family concerns" (Gebeke, 1993:1). Unfortunately many families and businesses have neglected to adapt to these changes. The women-in-business debate, however, has changed because so much has changed socially over the last 15 years (Bendeman, 2007). The increased pressure that employers place on employees to meet the needs of their customers and run a profitable business needs to be addressed, as employers, according to Blanchard (2000), need to put effective structures and systems in place for people to want to perform. Daily strains, such as childcare breakdown or an emergency caused by illness, could lead to increased employee absence. Unscheduled leave or absenteeism may have an impact on the productivity of the working mother, as well as a financial impact on the bottom line of almost any company (Smanjak, 2007). From a business point of view, the important outcome is productivity and bottom-line income. The focus is moving from "How many hours do you spend at work?" to "What did you do during that time?" If family and work-life involvement are managed efficiently, the possibility is that this can have a positive effect on the systems. Ferreira (2000) believes that South African firms, given the unique circumstances and competitive position on the African continent, have plenty of opportunities to become real pathbreakers. The author continues that "path breaking is a lot more rewarding than benchmarking" (Ferreira, 2000:7). It is thus essential to determine how family dynamics influence the productivity of the working mother. SYSTEMS AS PART OF LIFE Ambrosino, Heffernan, Shuttlesworth and Ambrosino (2005:447) state that "the increase in the number of women employed outside the family has been fairly sudden, leaving both employers and families unprepared to deal adequately with the resulting implications". The permanent attachment of women to the world of work reminded industry of what social workers already know: "that work and family are not separate worlds and what occurs in one inevitably affects what happens in the other" (Kurzman, 2008:314). This means that mothers are part of different systems that shape their lives and the lives of their families. Within these systems mothers have different roles that are unique to the specific system and complementary to one another. The mother now functions within two main systems: the economic system, which includes the mother in the workplace and the social system, which entails the family. Interaction within one system might influence the dynamics in other systems that the individual is involved in because, according to Ambrosino et al. (200...