When I used to be anticipating my first baby final spring, I used to be decided to make a parental depart plan that was finest for my household and demonstrated management on a matter I’m captivated with.
My scenario was a bit distinctive: whereas I establish as a lady and a mom, my spouse was carrying our baby. I kind of fell into each the standard class of maternity depart in addition to paternity depart. This led me to know Cisco’s parental depart coverage, which I used to be fortunately stunned to be taught isn’t about gender. Generally talking, within the U.S., Cisco provided 13 weeks of paid depart to main caregivers and 4 weeks to secondary caregivers. It is as much as the worker to establish themselves as main or secondary caregivers.
In my family, my spouse and I each work full-time and we each establish as moms. Ultimately, I decided that I used to be a main caregiver and took benefit of the total 13 weeks of paid depart at Cisco, although I wasn’t carrying or birthing our child. This was a tough determination for me to make, as I had many non-birthing co-workers on my staff and throughout my operation who recognized as secondary caregivers and solely took 4 weeks of depart. Part of me felt obliged to do the identical since I wasn’t carrying or breastfeeding our child. While the plain driver of my determination was to maximise my time at dwelling with my new child and post-partum associate, I used to be additionally acutely aware of breaking the stigma that non-birthing mother and father ought to solely take 4 weeks of depart as secondary caregivers.
There had been many individuals at Cisco earlier than me who labored onerous to advocate for the advantages out there to staff immediately. I wouldn’t honor their work if I didn’t take full benefit of my out there advantages. And I knew others wouldn’t really feel comfy doing the identical until we began main by instance.
If we would like social norms to shift, we should begin by appearing in a different way. I’m hopeful that my determination to establish as a main caregiver and take the total 13 weeks of paid depart will encourage different non-birthing moms, fathers, and fogeys to make the identical determination, if out there to them and finest for his or her households.
It’s necessary to acknowledge that I felt protected and supported in my determination due to the unimaginable tradition throughout Cisco, and inside my speedy staff. Stepping away from my function for 1 / 4 of a yr and forcing my staff to make do with out my day by day affect was scary. There had been moments the place I feared that my worth and contribution to the enterprise could be minimized as soon as the staff discovered how one can cowl my obligations. I felt responsible about my teammates and chief taking up my work. I used to be involved that I’d miss development alternatives or not be thought of for stretch tasks. Of course, I feared that others would decide me for taking the total main caregiver advantages whereas my associate was pregnant and delivering our baby.
Building a tradition of open dialogue round work-life steadiness was step one in shifting this mindset. After being at Cisco for 5 years and collaborating in numerous Women of Cisco roundtables the place we mentioned a handful of subjects, together with how one can steadiness profession and household, I had already executed the non-public work of shifting my mindset on this matter. Instead of asking, “What will people think if I take 13 weeks off as a non-birthing mother?” I requested myself, “What example will I be setting to future expecting parents if I don’t take full advantage of Cisco’s parental leave benefits?” This made my determination a no brainer.
The finest a part of my story is what occurred after my maternity depart.
Although sleep-deprived, I someway got here again to Cisco extra energized than ever. Closing my laptop computer for over 1 / 4 of a yr utterly decreased any sense of burnout. My morale at work was excessive — I had a optimistic angle. As a brand new mom, I used to be keen and in a position to join with my colleagues and shoppers in new methods. My productiveness elevated as I used to be motivated to make each minute at work depend to protect treasured time within the early mornings and late afternoons with my household. I didn’t carry resentment at work as a result of I had simply spent months of high quality time with my child and associate. I can say with full confidence that my work and affect are higher as a result of I made a decision to maximise time with my household when my son was born.
I might be minimizing the unimaginable quantity of labor all mother and father do every day for his or her youngsters and companions if I didn’t acknowledge that sustaining a optimistic work-life steadiness requires self-discipline and planning every day. Being a mother or father and bringing your finest self to work won’t ever be simple, however taking the total quantity of paid depart out there to me at Cisco gave me the time and focus I wanted to replicate on this, regulate to our new life modifications, and construct a plan.
My recommendation to anticipating mother and father who work full-time and have parental depart advantages out there is to contemplate what message your parental depart determination sends to these in your neighborhood. If you aren’t taking full benefit of your advantages, replicate on why.
It has been a privilege to work at Cisco, the place we’ve got such a robust people-first tradition. Because of that, I’m dedicated to expressing my values and provoking others by way of the choices I make every day, and I’m so grateful to the numerous people at Cisco who’ve and proceed to encourage me.
We all come from completely different backgrounds and views, and Cisco affords inclusive, adaptable advantages that evolve to help us just like the enhancements to paid Child Bonding Leave efficient within the U.S. in 2025. For well being and wellbeing improvements, try our just lately launched Purpose Report.
Subscribe to the WeAreCisco Blog.
Share: