Each year on the fourth Thursday of April, more than 37 million Americans at over 3.5 million workplaces celebrate ‘Take Your Kids to Work Day.’ While the pandemic has blurred the line between work and home for nearly all of us working remotely over the past year, this is especially true for parents. At ExecOnline, many of our children have made frequent cameos on our video calls, and we were eager to plan a special day of fun virtual activities to celebrate employees and their families!
All employees were welcome to join us for the events planned on April 22nd! To get into the spirit, parents shared photos with their kids throughout the day. Our Working Parents Employee Resource Group, which launched earlier this year, also hosted a virtual story and snack time for everyone!
This importance of family and work/life balance is as important as ever, and our Working Parents Employee Resource Group hopes to take what they have learned this past year back to the broader community. Below you will find tips and motivational words from the parents of ExecOnline on balancing both professional and personal responsibilities.
How do you balance professional and personal responsibilities? What tips and/or motivational words would you like to share with other parents?
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| Ginny Jamerson, Senior Director, Client Enablement, shared, “It is a dance every day to balance my two worlds: EXO and being Mom, but what I have found helpful is to plan, plan, plan! Look ahead a few days/weeks and get your ducks in a row work-wise and also home-wise – block times to work on certain projects, make dinner, bath time and bed time. Have open conversations with your loved ones and your coworkers about your “boundaries” and when they will have your undivided attention – I have found doing all of this has been really helpful! I have also learned to give myself grace – best advice I could give to any parent. Family is first and the rest will fall into place!” |  |
| Amanda Kenzitt, Senior Director, Client Success, shared, “I try to be as present as possible with my daughter during the evening hours and to not look at my phone between 5:30-8:00 PM until she is in bed. It isn’t always possible to be fully unplugged every night, but I find that by blocking my calendar and being on the same page with my team about when I’m available helps to manage my time with my daughter.” – Amanda Kenzitt, Senior Director, Client Success. |  |
| Michael Procknal, SVP, New Sales, shared, “It’s not easy being a parent during these times. Balance is tricky, but we try to divide responsibilities and try to keep all of the kids’ stuff as normal as possible (even though it’s very tough – Zoom school, away from friends, etc.). We always make sure we eat dinner as a family and the weekends are all about spending time together.” |  |
| Justin Dworkin, Senior Director, Corporate Partnerships, shared, “I have a 1 year old and 3 year old, so each day brings a new adventure. My wife works as well so it’s tough to balance watching the kids. They know they’re not supposed to come into my office when the door is closed, but of course they think it’s funny to walk in on my zoom calls. We always prioritize 1:1 time with the kids after work hours and on the weekends. It’s a crazy time, but we are having fun with it!” |  |
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Special thanks to our valued employees (and parents everywhere) for your continued commitment and flexibility while juggling your job responsibilities, parenting, schooling, and so much more. We appreciate you, and it was great to celebrate ‘Take Your Kids to Work Day’ with the youngest members of the ExecOnline Family!