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SheCanCode's Spilling The T
SheCanCode's Spilling The T
Navigating parenthood at the LEGO Group
Join us in this heartwarming episode as we delve into the experiences of a dedicated working parent navigating the intricate balance of career and family life. Meet Zhan Jessica Yu, Technical Program Manager, a passionate employee at the LEGO Group, who shares their journey of parenthood while being part of a supportive workplace environment.
Having three young children under the age of five, Jess, Technical Program Manager reflects on their experience of being on maternity/parental leave in 2023 and discovering the unparalleled support system provided by the LEGO Group. From flexible work arrangements to comprehensive parental leave policies, Jess, Technical Program Manager found themselves amazed by the extent of assistance available, enabling them to focus on both their family and career aspirations.
The LEGO Group has an initiative called Parents & Caregivers Network in Copenhagen, which has fostered a community where working parents can connect, share experiences, and support one another as they navigate the joys and challenges of parenthood.
Tune in as we explore the significance of workplace support for parents and caregivers, the impact of community networks, and the empowering journey of turning personal experiences into meaningful initiatives.
SheCanCode is a collaborative community of women in tech working together to tackle the tech gender gap.
Join our community to find a supportive network, opportunities, guidance and jobs, so you can excel in your tech career.
Hello everyone, thank you for tuning in Again. I am Katie Batesman, the Content Director at she Can Code, and today we're discussing building blocks of support navigating parenthood at the Lego Group. Today we're going to dive into the experiences of a dedicated working parent navigating the intricate balance of career and family life. I've got the amazing Jess from the Lego Group with me today and she's going to share her journey of parenthood whilst being part of a supportive workplace environment. Welcome, jess, lovely to have you on. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 2:Thank you, lovely to be here.
Speaker 1:We're gonna kick off with a bit of background about you, if that's okay. We have so much to cover off today, but we'd love to hear a little bit about you, what you do at Lego and your route into tech, if that's okay.
Speaker 2:Sure. So hello everyone. My name is Jess. I was born in Beijing in China, and when I was little I came to Denmark with my parents and from there I've been back and forth between China and Denmark during my childhood, during the education and also professional life, with a short exchange semester to the US. My background is not at all in tech. My background is in business and international trade, and I got my first job in tech almost 10 years ago, where I made a major shift from. Back then I was working at the foreign ministerium in Denmark, yeah, and two years ago I had the pleasure of joining the Lego Group as a technical program manager, based here in Copenhagen, where I live with my family in a cozy house with our three kids. And yeah, crazy weather. And yeah, crazy weather.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Ten years ago you fell into tech. What happened at that point? Did somebody point you in the direction of tech or did you know somebody else was doing it?
Speaker 2:Actually, it was a friend of mine and at a previous get together we had a talk about. You know, I was back then working with communications and I didn't really feel that was my call, as you can say. I felt that I was coordinating a lot between A, b, c and D, but at the end of the day, I wasn't able to distill any knowledge of my own, and so I have aired that to him. And then a few months later he pinged me and said hey, jess, take a look at this job posting. I think we could really use someone like you on our team. And I remember I opened the link and in the header there were six words. I had to look up three of them because I simply didn't know what that meant. So that was really, yeah, a steep learning curve. Luckily, I got the job. I have no idea, I mean, how I got it. It was more like an entry-level job. So I I hope that they saw the potential in me and not only what I have been able to accumulate um tech wise.
Speaker 1:So yeah, so many of our ladies say that and it's. It's always lovely to hear that. You know somebody pointed you in that direction and, for example, I've heard that several times.
Speaker 1:I opened the job application and I thought oh and then, you know, ladies end up um in in the tech industry and that's that's so lovely to hear that you don't always have to have a a clear path in um, and it's always inspiring for our community to hear that you can make that switch at any point um, and not feel like you know you have to have a computer science degree to come, that you can make that switch at any point um and not feel like you know you have to have a computer science degree to come in or anything like that um. Yes, we love it when our ladies share, share those, share those types of stories and we're gonna talk a little bit today about being a parent and how you navigate um work-life balance. You mentioned that you um have lots of children. Is it is it true? You have three under four, is that correct, under?
Speaker 2:five, now under five, okay, the oldest is four and a half. And then we have a little sister, slash big sister, who's two, almost three, and then we have a little brother who has just turned one this easter.
Speaker 1:Oh lovely well we're going to talk about how you manage to juggle having three children under five and a work-life balance with an amazing career at Lego as well. So I wanted to kick off with as a parent, how do you prioritize self-care and maintain a healthy work-life balance amidst the demands of both your career and family life?
Speaker 2:I think it starts a bit mentally with taking off that burden of the constant bad conscience that you may feel in both settings, and that already lights it up a lot, I think. Just the weight of it. Right, if you keep thinking of that, I try to be present where I am, both in the work setting and also when I'm with my family, try to be present and not think of anything else, and I think we have an amazing supportive system, both in terms of the workplace, but also we have the grandparents close by, which is really, yeah, a lucky place to be, um, who can step in as well, and also, I believe the Danish society in general is also quite supportive in terms of childcare subsidies and, yeah, all these things. So I think it's a combination of many factors that we can actually keep this balance, many factors that we can actually keep this balance, and for me it's. I mean, the time with smaller, younger children is also just a phase and it goes by so fast.
Speaker 1:I can already see that when I look at my oldest you know who someone please pause, because time flies and we really need to enjoy them and the time together with them while they're still this young, and that takes away the thought of oh, this is really hard work and so much laundry to do all the time, you know, all days a week, and yeah, I think that's, uh, that's a combination yeah, yeah, it sounds like a lot um to juggle with a career and everybody sounds like you have a really good network and that, as you said you started off saying, actually, a lot of that is mentally where the space is not always the the logistics of where everybody is meant to be at what time, but just mentally being present when you're at work or when you're being mom and kind of keeping those separate and juggling, juggling both.
Speaker 2:Yes, juggling both, yes, and I always say we, because me and my partner we're in this together, um, we are really equal. Um, you know, during all the house chores and picking up the kids and bringing them um, and we're working. Now we are tackling into the mental load part as well, together in our partnership. Um, yeah, it's, it's really exciting, uh, as well also for me to realize, like when you offload, you know how much you're actually were carrying around, um, mentally yeah, yes, yeah, having somebody to share that with somebody, the only other person that will understand what you're you're balancing.
Speaker 1:Can you share with us your initial reactions on discovering the level of support available for parents at the Lego Group during your maternity and parental leave in 2023? The Lego Group offer a pretty good package, don't they? And a good support system. So what was that like when you found that out?
Speaker 2:So when I mentioned to my manager the first time, my manager immediately said, oh, oh, great and congratulations. And you, you really were met with this heartfelt, you know, joy, shared joy, um. And then apparently, on the what is that called? Like the internet of the company, we have a whole lot of support. We have actually a person, like a position work at work, called the baby advisor, who will, is part of an HR organization, who knows all the things about the legislative, legislative side of things and also can support you prior to, during and after your leave and also going into, you know, being a caretaker and working out that work-life balance.
Speaker 2:And also and this is like a fun fact for people not at the LEGO Group we also have something called the brickmate, who is someone taking care of you when you're just entering the LEGO group in a new position, let's say, taking care of you, who's not your immediate manager, who's also not part of the HR organization, but someone who volunteered to become your brickmate, showing you around and linking you up socially with other colleagues as well.
Speaker 2:And when you return from leave, you can choose to get a baby brickmate assigned so in case you know after leave, you forgot which floor you're working on or forgetting passwords you know it's a thing that normally always happens Then, yeah, there's also someone there for you and this baby brickmaid oftentimes have gone through maternity or paternity leave him or herself and can share some of their experience with you as well. So I really felt, um, all my needs were met. Um, also because I was not a first-time mother, um, so there have been some questions which I think this system will definitely also have, beneficial for first-time parents, um, when they enter into this crazy journey.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all the questions they might have yeah, especially within a, a bigger company as well, that I suppose it could be quite easy to come back and feel like, um, you know you're quite lost within that company, that you're trying to find your feet again and trying to get back into into the rhythm of things. And within a larger company that's harder as well to get back into that routine for you. But to have somebody there dedicated for that, I mean that's amazing. They really obviously grab hold of good talent and think, you know, there's only one way that we're going to be able to keep good talent and that's to make sure that they feel very supported when they come back.
Speaker 2:Yes, and actually I also found out that for our bilon colleagues and because we have higher concentration of colleagues in in jutland and in denmark, the baby advice also sets up these parent groups. So for people with the due date around the same period of time, they will match them together so that they can also meet during their leaves if they want to. Of course, it's completely voluntary to take part in, and we were fairly new back then in Copenhagen, so the office in Copenhagen wasn't that big and it's only around digital. But we sent in a suggestion to say, hey, why don't we have this in the greater Copenhagen area? And they were very supportive and said, yeah, what a great idea, let's do something. And so we did. We set up a group of colleagues. In the beginning there weren't many, but I think now that we've also expanded in Copenhagen, there will be more at the same time. Right, it's also a timing thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, that's a really good idea to match people with other people.
Speaker 1:And, as you said, as you grow as well, you might not know that there are other colleagues that are about to go on mat leave or return. That's a really good idea to at least pair you up so you can stay in contact and share your experiences and, like you said, especially if you're a first-time parent as well, that would be really helpful to have somebody that is also in the same company as you as well see their experiences. Um, that's a great idea. Can you share any memorable moments or challenges that you've encountered whilst balancing your career at the Lego Group with raising three young children?
Speaker 2:I think it would be alive. I said, nope, there aren't any challenges.
Speaker 1:Could you pick one challenge?
Speaker 2:I'm a fairly social person and prior to having kids, you know, I was the type of colleague who attended all sorts of gatherings and this party committee or that initiative we started around like a creative workshop and stuff like this. And now, becoming a mother, I became a bit more, you know, economically thinking about my time, like where put it and and which networks and which um subgroups at work do I really really want to be part of um and which ones you might need to skip because you cannot involve um to the same extent as I could before um. And so there has been a slight challenge and this is maybe more from my fear of missing out side that most often workplaces and this is not just the Lego group.
Speaker 2:They have after-work socials in that time.
Speaker 2:So the Wolf Hour, in Danish terms, is the afternoon time where your kids are coming back from the kindergarten and they're tired and maybe hungry and you have to juggle cooking with them, not having two big conflicts among themselves.
Speaker 2:Also, you're also tired because you just came back home from work and until they are sent to bed, I think that has been a challenge to be there during the wolf hour in the family setting and also be able to maybe attend just a few of those after work socials.
Speaker 2:And it's on both sides, both me and my partner's work. And so we raised this to the Copenhagen office council and said you know, can't we make this a bit more inclusive, also for our working parents with young kids at home? And so they were very open to hear our suggestions and how we can sort of make this concept of after-hours social. Maybe it could be more like a weekend social or it could be even later in the evening, yeah, so we brainstormed a lot of good ideas and now we're having a few events targeting our working parents Of course other colleagues are also very welcome to join Planned at around the wolf hour time. So, um, so that we can accommodate that and also several events where you're able to bring your kids to work um because the lego group is an awesome workplace and we have, you know, bricks everywhere.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's the best place to invite a child for the day right.
Speaker 2:So it's also cool to be able to show the, the kids, this is mom's workplace or dad's workplace, yeah yeah, definitely, yeah, you know, I hadn't even thought about that.
Speaker 1:inviting a child into lego for the day, um, especially when, uh, they, they have those those days, you know, bring, bring your child to work day. You can imagine children at school saying, oh, my parent works at Lego and I'm going to Lego for the day. You always hear of those children that have gone to boring workplaces and you think, oh, you know didn't have a very good week, but you'd love to go to Lego.
Speaker 2:But it's even. I mean we are in an office setting. I think it might be even cooler if we were working, if there was a factory, you know, where the bricks are actually being molded and produced. We also have that on the Lego group level. We have something called family days where they can bring, you can bring your immediate family to, where you can bring your immediate family to, and there are shuttle buses around the various sites and where you actually get to go inside the factory and show them. This is actually where the Christmas present came from, or you know. Yeah, oh, wow.
Speaker 1:And they're just the tiniest things that must really keep people working there as well. They kind of get that, don't they? Like the tiniest little things, that if you have children, they must be so curious about what it is like to work there. So here's, you know, we'll put on a bus and show you around and, yeah, make your dreams come true.
Speaker 2:I love that and it is the vision I would say. The mission of the LEGO Group is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow, and they are the builders of tomorrow's world right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. Exactly what specific support mechanisms did you find most beneficial during your time on leave and how did they contribute to your overall well-being as a parent?
Speaker 2:I would say what was most important for me, um, in my situation, was the fact that I haven't been with the lego group for a very long time.
Speaker 2:So I really had a personal need to be able to know you know what's going on at work and what new colleagues did we get during my time away.
Speaker 2:So I actually asked my manager back then to set up, you know some I think it was bimonthly maybe check-ins with me so that we can talk both on a personal level but also, you know, for me to have a sneak peek into you know what has changed since last time.
Speaker 2:We spoke kind of cadence and I think it's not something for all I know a lot of parents would prefer to. You know I just stay in my parenthood kind of bubble and not need to worry about anything outside of it. So I think that's a really personal preference thing and for me it helped a lot for also coming back, the process of coming back, to make that more smooth, that transition, because I already knew, you know, what the major changes have been and whom I should have immediately agreed with, because these people joined during my leave and so on my leave and so on. Yeah, so that is also, I guess, a mechanism for me not to be, you know, too overwhelmed coming back right, so that this transition is a bit more soft than if I had gone from a zero talk to yeah, fully back to work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, out of curiosity, because you hadn't been at Lego very long when you had your third child. What was your previous transition back into work like with your other children? Was that as smooth, do you think, or do you think there were challenges there as?
Speaker 2:well, I would say the first time it maybe because it was the first kid, it was also yeah, that as well because there was this mental shift of now you cannot, you know, work over overtime as much as you want and afterwards and back then I was also in consulting as an IT consultant.
Speaker 2:So that was a slightly more difficult transition, I would say. I wouldn't say that it was because of the company support system was not there. Maybe also I wasn't as proactively seeking it because I didn't know what I would potentially need at the end of my leave and also the timing. Back then it was during COVID, so a lot of working from home was encouraged, which helped a little bit right Juggling the work-life balance. I would say that after COVID and we were returning to a higher degree to the workplace and as a consultant, you know, to various workplaces because we were put on project at different major companies it was a bit tougher due to the traveling time as well and the change in the shift, in what is called like when you change between projects as well, you're not solely on one but you have several contexts you have to manage between.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because it's always interesting to speak with people that have experienced different mat leaves at different companies and and how they found them. And, as you said, obviously that would have been very different when you had your first child as well and um not knowing that you could reach out um. So it sounds like lego are very open um about what is available and whether or not it's your first child or your third um. To just to let parents know um what is available and that there is help there and lots of people to support you is a really good thing. What advice would you give to other working parents who may be navigating similar challenges in finding a balance between their professional and personal lives?
Speaker 2:I think, first of all for sure, get rid of this bad conscious that is in your mind, because it eventually will be a self. What's it called? Like these prophecies that come true by itself because you're thinking that way? Oh, and then those thoughts make the negative impact basically on your presence right, and resulting in that you cannot be 100% there where you are. So, wherever you are, just focus on those around you, whether it's a work setting or at home. That is all already half of the way right to achieve that balance. And then second advice would definitely be to reach out for support or help or just somebody to air concerns and whatever thoughts you might have as a parent. You know it's most likely you'll find resonance and most likely you will find someone who is willing to listen to you and actually listen to you. I think that gives a lot of comfort. Yeah.
Speaker 1:How did you find it as well? So we've had a few ladies on here who have said, you know I was really nervous about telling my employer when I was pregnant because they thought it would impact their career. And there is still that feeling nowadays that you know it might in the future I might not get that promotion I wanted. Or I had a lady on here say she was so nervous about telling her employer but actually when she came back from mat leave she received a promotion and it was one of the best things she'd ever done. And you know she was very much a loyal employee because of the way that they had supported her during mat leave.
Speaker 1:And when you mentioned earlier, when you told Lego about it, you said that your manager was very supportive and very kind of. That's amazing, you know, like congratulations, and it wasn't seen as a a oh, you're going to be missing and we could really do with you here. It was. It was more seen as good for you and we, you know we look forward to when you come back and all the great things you'll do when you're back here. How has that always been the way for you when, when you had your children, or were you really nervous, perhaps at first in in breaking to that employer that you were pregnant.
Speaker 2:And I think then again maybe it was because it was the first kid those thoughts I had a lot of those during my first pregnancy. I were very mindful of the timing, of when I should bring this news to them. I also, luckily, in my old work had a really great relationship with my immediate manager, so it was more to the wider, I guess, department organization. I was very like maybe we should wait a little. So I didn't want to be treated differently as someone who is, you know, soon um had to stop on this or that project.
Speaker 2:Um, and I think here, because it's not a consulting company anymore, I, I feel that there's a, there's a coherence in everything you do, right, um, there is some impact of the work that you do which is not just taken away or shifting to something else or changing during your time away. And rather, yeah, I had the most amazing send off by my colleagues at the Lego group and also you get a personal letter from the ceo you know, congratulating. Now you are having, you know, the your own little um build off tomorrow and for you to return.
Speaker 2:yeah, it was really um, really nice, that is nice that is really nice yeah, and and I think these uh thoughts everyone might have them to one extent or the other I think also one thing that has changed and which is like more macro change, is that the whole I mean the danish legislation has changed. So now both partners, whether it's the one giving birth or the partner, they get the same amount of leave, or they, you know, are um, I would say, they can take the same amount of leave and if one of them do not choose to to take that leave, that leave will actually disappear. So really encouraging both parents to equally share and I think that makes a shift in the worries of because not everyone will have these worries and hopefully everyone don't need to have this kind of worries going forward, yeah, definitely and, as you say, especially if it's your first child.
Speaker 1:and then, as you learn, going along, you know, those thoughts disappear a little bit. But if it's your first child, it's almost as if the Lego group get ahead of that and they know that you're probably going to be having those worries. So here's a letter from the CEO, almost to let you know you know, well, it's okay and we're really supportive of that and, um, you know, really enjoy that time, uh.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, that's, that's really really nice touch definitely really normalizing it, because everyone is I mean many people are right. Becoming parents or they are parents, either if their kids are, or becoming grandparents is also, you know, a a major thing in life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, not something that should be worried about, but something that should be really enjoyed. I have one last question for you. Is there anything that you wish somebody had told you before you became a first-time parent and went on maternity leave?
Speaker 2:I think, comforting words, as in you know, don't worry, your job will still be there when you come back, and your amazing colleagues, they will not look at you differently. Um, they will still see you, know you as you and due to your skills and personality and all the other things that you contribute um with into the workplace. And also, I think I could have used someone telling me that becoming a parent is a huge asset as well, that it's like a this concentrated, you know, personal development crash course in a very short amount of time. Um, that you really, because, when you look at it, parenthood is. It's very, um, similar to, to, to leadership. Actually, you know, it requires active listening skills. It requires a lot of coaching. Very similar to leadership. Actually, it requires active listening skills. It requires a lot of coaching. It will test your patience. It will Negotiation Exactly, constant negotiations, right of things you never realize.
Speaker 2:Well, that's negotiable. It's time management. I mean, there are so many soft skills and leadership skills that um not explicitly. How do you say there's not an explicit narrative around that? I think, going into the future, I wish for workplaces and h HR organizations to really look at these soft skills and parenting skills and see. Ok, what can we build on top of that? I mean, this is sort of the foundational bricks for leadership.
Speaker 1:Equally yes definitely, and that is lovely advice to end it on because we are already out of time. Thank you so much, jess, for sharing your story and your journey and your advice, for our ladies and I know our community are going to find that really invaluable to hear. So thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker 2:It's been an absolute pleasure it has been a pleasure from my side as well and to everybody listening, as always.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for joining us and we hope to see you again next time.
