American Express’ Post

“Hey, congrats on your new baby!!! Do you have some time off?” “Thanks! I do, 5 weeks of paternity leave.” “Oh wow, that’s really a lot!” Is it though..? First off, I’m so damn grateful to have this time off to do my part at home with my partner during this full-time "parenting onboarding," connecting with and learning from our little Aurora. ❤️ A dream come true. I have to be honest – I’m madly in love (and tired 💪 ). TomTom, and my manager Arne-Christian Van Der Tang, you’re the best. Everything has been easy and pressure-free thanks to you, and I will never stop singing praises about how fantastic this place is to work. ⭐ The first months of parenthood are incredibly hard (and beautiful), and adjusting is a tremendous challenge. You feel quite lost, especially as an expat. It’s not just hard – it also comes with a cost, on your social life, health, and possibly your career. However, it appears that we still live in a world where these challenges are primarily borne by mothers. This is just wrong. 🙅♂️ First, as a father, I WANT to be perceived and treated as a primary caregiver, not just an extra pair of hands. Second, and most importantly, when partners are given the opportunity to be present at home and do their part, it truly helps level the playing field for women in the job market and society, allowing for a more balanced division of childcare and career responsibilities. This is a must, and it's ridiculously underestimated. It isn’t just about fairness; it’s about building a more equitable and supportive environment for all employees, mothers AND fathers. Being off for 5 weeks is fantastic, I seriously love it, but it should be the evolving norm, not the exception. #PaternityLeave #Fatherhood #Equity

My wife and I welcomed Eli Michael DeGrand 🍼 to this world on August 11. Since then, I've had an incredible opportunity to bond with him, witness my daughter (Tegan) grow into the role as a big sister, and support my family during the earlier stage of Newborn-palooza. Thanks to Knowable's 8-week paid child bonding policy and the strong, supportive family-centric culture at Knowable this was possible. Special shout-out to Andrew Boyle , Lindsay Archie , and Rafał Mucha for the coverage support while I was away. You are Rockstars! 👩🎤 🤘 Side note: it's far less common to see 8 weeks paid time off or anywhere close to it at companies in the US. 😩 (See more info here about the national average being one week - https://lnkd.in/epRx6rkC) As a manager and a cross-functional partner, I've been wrapping my head around how to transition back into the mix with the least amount of disruption. Do you have some best practices to share or questions to ask your team/cross-functional colleagues that will help with the reacclimation process? Here are some questions I thought of: 1. What challenges popped up that are still open to resolve? 2. What policy/process changes occurred to catch me up on? 3. Which coverage plan activities did you enjoy doing? Which ones are you glad to pass back off of your plate? I'm curious to hear what you think. Please share in the comments. Cheers and let the return-to-work begin! #PaidLeaveLife #ChildBonding #KnowableCulture

As I approach the end of my parental leave, I’ve been reflecting on the past eight months with deep gratitude. This time has been incredibly meaningful, and knowing it may be my last extended leave of this kind has made me even more appreciative. For my first LinkedIn post, I wanted to focus on something truly important to me, and something I will continue to advocate for—parental leave and work-life balance. First, I want to sincerely thank my amazing colleagues (you know who you are) for stepping up, offering support, and ensuring everything ran smoothly during my absence. After 13 years with Thiess, I feel fortunate to be part of such a dedicated and supportive team. The way we come together to achieve our goals, with the guidance of exceptional leaders over the years, speaks to the strong culture we’ve built and continue to foster. Now, for some professionals, there comes a point when we begin to closely examine the policies and entitlements that impact us, particularly parental leave. In Australia, we’re fortunate to have government support, but it’s encouraging to see more employers going beyond that, offering additional support and actively encouraging secondary carers to take time with their families. I hope this trend continues. I’m personally grateful for the forward-thinking organisations that are leading the way. It’s thanks to companies like QIC that my husband is able to take extended leave and spend quality time with our children. This kind of support will undoubtedly make my transition back to work so much easier, easing the pressures and guilt that often accompany balancing a career with family life. Their commitment to employee well-being is truly making a difference, and I know my husband Amir is extremely proud to be part of a company that values this balance. Moving forward, I’m hopeful that more organisations will continue to prioritise the well-being of their employees, recognising the immense value of fostering a supportive and balanced work environment. As a working parent, having this kind of flexibility and support is truly life-changing. I encourage others to share their experiences with parental leave and work-life balance—whether it’s challenges, successes, or reflections. Let’s continue to advocate for policies and cultures that support both our careers and our families. Together, we can inspire more progress in this space. #parentalleave #paidparentalleave #creatingpositiveworkcultures

🌟 TRUSTZONE: Supporting Every Phase of Life 🌟 TRUSTZONE believes that employees have the right to enjoy both their personal and professional lives. That's why we're proud to offer 24 weeks of paid parental leave to new parents, both mothers and fathers alike. 👪 Embracing Extended Parental Leave: At TRUSTZONE, we recognise the important role of fathers and mothers in their children's lives. That's why our parental policy demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that fathers and mothers have the time and flexibility needed to bond with their infants. 🌱 A Supportive, Family-centric Culture: Our goal is to provide a work environment that supports new parents. Employees at TRUSTZONE are encouraged to prioritise their family commitments so they may fully enjoy that unforgettable journey of parenthood. 💼 Enhancing Productivity with Positivity: We believe in promoting positivity and wellness at work, which helps our employees to be more productive. Balancing work and family life creates a happier, more productive workforce overall. 📸 Capturing Moments that Matter: With our family-centric values, we understand how important it is to capture moments that matter. From our Sales Manager embarking on a 5-month paternity leave to our Swedish AE about to enjoy more quality time with his son and our Danish AE recently returning, rejuvenated from his paternity experience — these snapshots encapsulate the essence of TRUSTZONE's values. At TRUSTZONE, we celebrate parenthood and promote work-life balance! Read more about us here: https://lnkd.in/dh8hrQWu #TRUSTZONE #PaternityLeave #ParentalLeave #CelebratingParenthood #WorkLifebalance #FamilyValues

I’m often asked why Michelle Pittell and I decided to build a parental leave planning app (Mola). And it was simple, we believe every family deserves a stress-free and well-organized parental leave journey — something we both desperately needed when we took maternity leave. 🤰 🌎 In a world where companies are evolving their parental leave policies, especially in the US, we're finally witnessing a positive and exciting shift towards supporting working parents. Extended leaves and improved policies are fantastic; and much needed, but they present with a significant challenge — ensuring a seamless transition of responsibilities before and after leave for all working parents and teams involved. 💻 As working mothers, Michelle and I understand the struggle firsthand. We've been in the trenches, piecing together leave plans from scattered documents and endless internet searches because, like many, we didn't have the budget for a parental leave coach. And our shared experience as former co-Presidents highlighted the undeniable impact poor transition planning can have on a business. 👏 Enter our new business, Mola, a parental leave app! Michelle's return from maternity leave in 2022 and both of us having dealt with postpartum depression post parental leave, inspired us to find a smarter solution than sifting through scattered, unorganized documents. Combining our web development expertise and personal experiences, we embarked on a mission to create an online collaborative tool that streamlines parental leave transition planning for parents and teams of all sizes and locations. ❤️ For us, Mola isn't just a software application; it's a solution born from real-life challenges, empowering both working parents and businesses—because every family deserves a stress-free and well-organized parental leave journey! 💡 💭 How does your company support parental leave transition planning — both before and after leave?? Did you have a similar experience to Michelle and I? Would love to hear from all working parents! #parentalleave #planning #maternityleave #paternityleave #adoptionleave #HRTechnology

I've got a secret... And it's one I'm ashamed to admit. But after I'd had my first daughter, I didn't want to go back to work. I cried on the morning of my first day back. I used to cry after dropping her at nursery each day before heading for my train. Looking at other women, certain social media accounts and newspaper reports made me feel something was wrong with me—like I should be itching to drop my daughter at nursery for 10 hours per day and head back to work full-time. I absolutely adored both of my maternity leaves. Looking back, they are still my favourite years. I loved taking my children to baby groups - catching their eyes across the rooms as they ran to pop yet another bubble 🫧! There’s a narrative that more free childcare will lead all women to rush back to their full-time jobs. While affordable childcare is critical (I certainly needed it when starting my business), it wouldn’t have made me want to work full-time. To be completely honest, I would’ve felt even more torn about what I should/shouldn't be doing- that there would have been an even greater expectation to work full-time, and I'd have felt guilty if I wasn't. We’ve been conditioned to believe it’s full-time or nothing. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve built Investing in Women around flexibility. I now have a part-time team, and the work they achieve during school hours is nothing short of phenomenal. If you're nearing the end of your maternity leave and feel conflicted about returning to work, know this—you are not alone. Not all of us feel excited about returning to work, and that’s okay. ❤️ Work post-kids is certainly different, but it does get easier! For me, taking a break (thank you, Covid) was the best thing that ever happened to my career. When the time was right, I was itching to dive back in and build something amazing. And employers, please take note: there is a HUGE pool of untapped, productive talent who can help you grow and transform your business searching for a flexible role just like yours. ✨ How did you feel about returning to work after maternity leave? Were you sad it had ended, or were you itching to go back? Let me know in the comments 👇

💫 In an ideal world, your employer would have a re-onboarding plan ready for you when you return from parental leave. Unfortunately, that's often not the case. 💪 In that case, you can take the initiative and proactively suggest a progressive return plan to ease your transition back into the workplace. A well-thought-out re-onboarding can make all the difference in balancing your new responsibilities at home and at work. 📑 I recommend to start preparing this plan ahead of your leave, so as to ease the mental load once you return. This will also help to set the right expectations with your colleagues ahead of time. In other words don't wait for the ideal world. Take charge! 💡 Have you had to navigate your return from parental leave? 💡 What strategies did you find most helpful? ______ I am Cathy, I help new parents go on parental leave and return to work with purpose and confidence. I founded Gaïndéa Parental Leave Support, a coaching and consulting practice focused on facilitating seamless parental leave transitions and advocating for parental inclusion in the workplace.

Time has flown by this year! After welcoming my second baby and fully embracing maternity leave, I’m now 90 days back at work (plus a couple weeks, but who’s counting?). In many ways, returning to work after baby #2 has been smoother. I’m more confident that the early chaos will pass, that I’m making the right choices for my family’s childcare, and that I can and will successfully find my work-life blend. However, this return is different from my first in 2021. Now, I’m spending a day or two a week in the office, traveling to client sites, and coordinating an occasional overnight trip. It’s been a new learning experience—filled with both challenges and wins—and I’m excited to share my insights with my network as a resource. In the meantime, one product that has been a lifesaver is my Sarah Wells bag, designed specifically for moms to make #momlife “just a smidge easier.” Inspired by Sarah Wells' new book, Go Ask Your Mothers, I’m turning to my fellow working moms: What are your tips and tricks for balancing motherhood and career? And for those who travel for work—how do you manage the logistics of travel while balancing family life? Please share your insights in the comments or DM me—I’d love to hear from you! #GoAskYourMothers #MomsSupportingMoms #WorkTravel #BackToWork #WorkLifeBlend

Thrilled by the momentum in advocating for paid parental leave, especially the incredible Bobbie campaign ( 🤩 ). Yet, a crucial question lingers.... 🛑 What happens AFTER companies integrate paid parental leave into their policies or extend existing leave policies? HOW can we ensure a seamless transition of responsibilities before and after leave for parents and teams involved? Before starting Mola, this was my personal struggle. I successfully championed for a paid parental leave policy at my previous company, but the reality of transitioning my workload before leave hit hard. The company had no resources beyond a simplistic "write a list and assign it" approach, leaving me grappling with the complexity of the situation. Returning to work, post-leave, was equally challenging—trying to make sense of what transpired during my absence, all while navigating mom-brain and sleep deprivation. 💭 All this to say, it's a real-life struggle that we all have to think about... How can we support parents once a policy is in place, both before and after leave? And, we have to think about it now. Share your insights! What companies or resources have been your go-to for a smooth transition? Personally, I love the work Parentaly is doing (and yes, they're in the same space as Mola, but I envision us as future partners, not competitors 💫 ). I'm also a fan of Bobbie's Leave Playbook that they have shared publicly -- you can find a link to it on their LinkedIn page. Let's continue this vital conversation on supporting parents through every phase of their parental leave journey! 🙌 🚀 #ParentalLeave #PaidLeave #MaternityLeave #PaternityLeave #AdoptionLeave #HRtech #TransitionSupport

It's official--I'm stepping back into the professional world after maternity leave, and wow, holy cr@p, this is hard. I am so incredibly grateful for the time I had to bond with our new (and first) baby. Becoming a parent has changed me in ways I wasn't expecting and frankly, it's made me look at work a little differently. Before I left on leave, I had a thorough leave-plan set, I had read about how to make the transition easier, and felt "ready" for this new chapter. Now that I'm back? I can't help but feel like twelve weeks (or even sixteen for some companies) isn't enough. We recover, we start to bond, and then, we come back. It's as if nothing has changed but yet everything has. It's an emotional mix of exhaustion, guilt, gratitude, and the steepest learning curve. This experience has deepened my understanding of the need for better parental leave policies across the United States. We need so much MORE than time to recover--we need time to adjust, reintegrate, and find our footing as new parents. In this journey back, I see the work Bobbie, PARENTLY, Moms at Work, Moms First, and so many more are doing to help advocate for all working parents, and I thank them. And as I "dive right back in," I'm carrying this experience with me. To all the parents out there who are balancing, almost balancing, or barely balancing, I see you. Let's keep pushing for the support we deserve. #MaternityLeave #ParentalLeave #WorkingParents #FMLAReform #CareerandFamily