Growing up, I remember seeing my own mom as this superhero who was able to handle her work responsibilities (that always seemed like too many), as well as being the most loving mother to my siblings and me–and never letting any detail at all slip through her fingers. Nowadays, a bit older and hopefully a bit wiser, I no longer see her as a superhero; I know she is one.
Every mom in the world rocks, but today we want to give a big shout-out to those who manage to balance their work with their mom duties. To do so, we’ll have the honor to share with you the insights of the amazing Women In PPC who also happen to be mothers, and their answers to the question “Do you struggle with maintaining a healthy work-life balance?”.
To get started, we introduce you to Niki Fielding, CEO of Digital Brand Expressions, whose answer to that question was: “In the early days, I worked crazy hours. I was recently divorced, my children were in elementary school, and I was committed to spending time with them on my days when they weren’t in school, so I was working from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m., taking them to school, working while they were in school, spending dinner time to bedtime with them, grabbing some sleep, and doing it all again. Crazy! As the company grew, I found myself still working way too much. It wasn’t until about 7 years in that I took a step back, reassessed how I was working and learned to set boundaries that led to a happier, healthier me. My team and I worked from home 2 days a week before Covid, so shifting to WFH in 2020 wasn’t a challenge for us. They work a flexible schedule that looks something like 9:00–5:00, and I’m committed to them not working late nights or weekends. I can count on one hand the times in 20 years that we needed to work on a weekend to make the magic happen. We are super organized and the word “collaborative” doesn’t even begin to express how well my team works together to keep everyone balanced and moving forward.” Aren’t the sacrifices that mums make in order to make their children’s lives easier and happier amazing? For sure. We are glad you found a healthy balance and that you applied it to your work environment as well. Happy Mother’s Day Niki!
Next up, we have Rachel Smith, head of the PPC department at Platform81, shared with us her lessons on being a working mum: “I do find it very hard to switch off from my job at the weekends and if I go away on holiday (what’s a holiday?! I cannot remember…). So, over the years I have had to learn that trusting my colleagues is important, but what took longer was to trust myself. I know what I am doing and I am prepared and organized enough that I don’t need to be constantly checking in during downtime. Becoming a mother has also helped me realize how to make that balance. The agency I work for now is incredible and really encourages flexible working, I am very lucky to be there.” I found it so amazing how these ladies brought their learnings from being a mum to their work environments, and how great that turned out to be.
Rachel also shared with us another story on how to find that balance: “I am a working mum, and it has been tough! I even had to leave an old job when I had my baby because I was a victim of maternity discrimination – imagine going to tribunal, worrying about getting a new job, AND being post-natal – nightmare.” As if being pregnant wasn’t exhausting enough, Rachel (and many others) also had to deal with this big issue that keeps coming up: being discriminated against for deciding on having children, and sometimes not even being hired for the possibility of it. We are really happy that you found a place that makes you feel comfortable and lets you maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life, happy Mother’s Day Rachel!
Our next amazing woman, Chrissy Holleman, the Marketing Director of Proclaim Interactive, who shared with us her point of view, and life hack, of work-life balance: “Well, work-life for me is a non-balance. I feel strongly that I (and many people) can be great at one thing at a time. Therefore I schedule my life to be 100% — whether that’s 100% focused on work, on being a mum, or on being me. It is a challenge to find enough hours in the week to give focus to all the areas of life, but as my kiddo grows up, I’m finding more time each week and am looking forward to getting my tennis game back!” That’s great advice, thank you so much, Chrissy! We look forward to that tennis game as well! Happy Mother’s Day to you!
We received an answer from another incredible woman, Tracy Valencia, Director of Paid Media at MWI, who shares with us the #1 secret of being a working mum who’s been in the field for over 15 years: “Sometimes I just need to take an hour and go sit on the floor and play with our dog Molly and my daughter Isabella.” I love how this may be the most honest and real tip I’ve ever gotten, balance is also about identifying what you need at the time and going for it. Happy Mother’s Day Tracy! We hope you enjoy an amazing day surrounded by your girls!
Next, and reaching the end, we have Leann Pickard, Director of Advertising at Juris Digital, who shared with us a very honest open-hearted response on being a mum who really loves her job: “Well, I am what they call a workaholic, but I think all people that love their job would probably identify with that. So, the honest answer is yes and no. Some months I can give you a confident yes, things are healthy with a naturally occurring balance of life and work. Then there are times where work takes over and that balance is harder to achieve. During those times, I have to make myself pause and remember there is a life outside of a blinking cursor, constantly changing data, and notifications that require my attention. I try to keep my family & myself first because work will always be there. I know life is precious so I don’t take mine for granted and really try to live it to the fullest.” I think this is a great final quote because it leaves us with the bottom line that balance is a changing thing, and that, from time to time, you may need to readjust it in order to remain happy and organized. Happy Mother’s Day Leann!
So, to conclude, I just want to say that all the moms everywhere deserve to have an amazing day, and to our awesome moms In PPC: We wish you the best Mother’s Day ever! With the current scenario that we are living in, we know everything became twice (or thrice) as hard, and you really deserve a huge shout-out (and flower bouquet) for hanging in there.
Happy Mother’s Day ladies!
Love,
All of us at Women In PPC 💗