UBS’ Working Mom of the Yr Embraces Flexibility to Make It Work at Dwelling and at Work
I think a bit of flexibility is key to the whole equation in making it work as a working mom, both the employer’s flexibility and flexibility with yourself are important. Being the mother of three young boys and having a successful career in investment banking at the same time is challenging, but I take great pride in making it work by making decisions every day.
At various points in my career, mainly related to the birth of my children and their upbringing today, UBS has offered the advantages and flexibility to cope with the more difficult times. The current 20 weeks of paid vacation that was for my third child made a big difference compared to the 12 weeks for my first child.
At UBS, I always had the support of my line manager to work from home when I needed some flexibility. I think the flexible working arrangements that UBS provided during the COVID-19 pandemic and that are to be continued beyond that will play a crucial role for working mothers. If I work from home, I can skip the four-hour round trip to New York City. I am delighted that many industries are going in this direction and I believe UBS is taking the lead by trusting its people and offering flexible arrangements. I believe it will make many careers (and higher positions) easier for working mothers.
I’ve always made it a priority to attend all of my children’s major school events, and working from home makes it possible. Like many other working mothers, I often work early in the morning and late at night and on my way to work to keep up with work. My schedule may look a little different from that of other colleagues, but that doesn’t affect my productivity. I also realize that as a working mom I’ll always have lots of eggs in the air and some will drop regularly (or, in my case, might be tossed at me by my boys), but my advice is to always prioritize the must-have things – get items done and be satisfied when other balls fall as you can pick them up later. That is the flexibility in yourself that I think is important. Nobody has it all together at the same time, so don’t bother too much if you don’t either.
