Feeling Empowered as a Working Mom 

As Women’s History Month comes to an end, we’re continuing to celebrate women at Commvault all year round! As a working mom and proud co-leader of our Family Support Network Employee Affinity Group (EAG), I wanted to share my experience in hopes to empower working moms (and dads!) everywhere.

I began my career in Human Resources (HR) over 25 years ago, and have been at Commvault for the past 11 years. I was always a people-centric person, and being in HR allowed me to celebrate the human side of the business and focus on the people, a company’s most important asset. Building strong connections and empowering people to thrive and grow is what has inspired me throughout my career.

Having empathy has always been an integral part of my role as an HR leader, but my level of empathy completely evolved once I became a mom. I am blessed to have two beautiful sons in my life – Jake, 8, and Ryan, 6 – but my journey wasn’t without challenges. In 2016, I found out I was pregnant with identical twin boys. After my initial shock that I was going to be 42 years old with three children under the age of two – I was overjoyed! After some complications 24 weeks into my pregnancy, I ended up delivering Ryan and Max prematurely. The next day, Max passed peacefully in my husband’s arms. I was completely numb after this tragedy, yet still had a critical newborn baby in the hospital and a 19-month-old at home whom I had to stay positive (and thankful) for. 129 days and three surgeries later, Ryan was released from the hospital, a day after his original due date. He’s a happy and healthy boy today.

As a mom, you change after you have kids. And after losing a child, I changed even more. It made me realize that you never know someone’s full story – which is why always leading with empathy and care is crucial to building relationships and creating a positive, supportive work environment. That’s why I’m so passionate about not only what I do in HR, but also my involvement with our Family Support Network EAG. This is a support group for working parents and caretakers in all facets of family life – from being a new parent to dealing with toddlers, tweens, teens, and aging parents.  

In the spirit of celebrating working moms (and all working parents!) I wanted to share some tips and tricks I’ve learned from my fellow Vaulters that have helped me become a better working parent:

• Learn how to unplug from work. Disconnecting is harder said than done, however, we all have to unplug at some point or else we’ll burn out. Remember – taking time to reset is crucial in helping us come back to work the next day refreshed and recharged. I turn off my phone at night after a certain time to help disconnect from work.
• Talk to your kids about your job. Working and living at home is the reality for many of us in this new hybrid work world. Young children often don’t understand why mom is home but can’t spend time with them during certain hours. Explaining what your job is to your kids can help them better understand you and the concept of this new way of remote working.
• Embrace planning. Whenever I have a busy week coming up, I create a schedule and plan ahead to make things less stressful. A big thing for me – planning dinners. This allows me to avoid wasting time figuring out what we’re going to eat after a hectic day and gives me more quality time with my kids.
• Remember that feeling guilty is normal. Finding a balance between being a parent and working is always going to be a challenge. We’ll likely always have moments when work gets in the way and we feel guilty about having to miss time with our kids. Or on the flip side, we may feel guilty stepping away from work to do something with our kids. Find a routine that works best for you and remember to not be so hard on yourself!

Trial and error is the key to success in many aspects of our lives, especially with parenting. I can tell you firsthand that life throws many obstacles at us, and at the end of the day, it’s important to realize that we are all human. Celebrating and supporting each other as parents and caretakers is what helps us stay grounded and inspired, so let’s continue to embrace the power of empathy! When we open our minds and hearts to better understand each other, it not only makes us better professionally but personally too. I’m so thankful to my global Vaulter community and our Family Support Network for allowing me to share my story and learn from others every day.

To learn more about Commvault’s culture of caring, click here.