Corporate Balance Empowerment Rocks
Balancing career and family is a struggle that all working parents face. With meetings, projects, and clients competing with playdates, school activities, and quality time spent with your children, it’s no surprise that parents are often left feeling conflicted about deciding how to divvy up their day. What if companies started to lend parents a hand? What would that mean for America’s workforce? Ginger Moore talked with us about the program her employer, NBCUniversal, has implemented to help ease the burden on its working parent employees.
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4word: When you decided to start a family, what considerations did you have to make? Did you feel like you had to choose between career and home?
Ginger: Every career-driven woman feels the pressure of balancing career and home from the moment of maternity– success requires effort, and it takes a considerable amount of time to be successful in a single venture like work, let alone multiple like work plus family. I believe that pressure reveals everything about how dedicated you are to being successful–you have to stand up to the challenge if you want to be a successful mother with a successful career.
My husband has been most instrumental in my success by encouraging me to allow family and work to coexist to the point where they drive one another. If you challenge yourself to focus on both simultaneously by applying lessons learned across both disciplines, you’ll teach your kids by example how to have responsibility and dedication in all aspects of life.
4word: Does your employer have any family-friendly policies that lessen the work/home tension?
Ginger: There are 2 main tools from NBCUniversal that I use to empower balance: 1) Bright Horizons Back-up Care Advantage. NBCUniversal’s contract offers employees 20 days per year per child of subsidized child care for infants through teenagers, and you can drop in to any Bright Horizons center whether it’s close to work, home, or a work destination; and 2) the Blackberry. There is no balance in work and life other than doing both all the time, as I talk about in the video below!
4word: It’s unusual to hear of children accompanying parents on business trips. How does that work for you and your family?
Ginger: I always love having my kids around! I want to be involved in their lives, and we want to give them the opportunity to be involved in life outside of the classroom. Using the Bright Horizons Back-up Care Advantage when traveling on business trips allows me to relax and be productive – I can remain focused on family and work just as I would a normal day at home however in a different location. It also affords us the fun of experiencing travel together and allows us to visit extended family.
4word: When you travel with your children, how do you keep focused on the job before you, rather than being distracted by their needs?
Ginger: I always put their needs before mine whether I’m home or traveling. Instead of thinking about it as a distraction, I relax, remain flexible, and have fun with them. I exercise with them, drink coffee, and then use their down-time to focus on work .
4word: How was the decision to incorporate the Bright Horizons Back-up Care Advantage received by all of the NBCUniversal employees? Did anyone feel that parents were being given special treatment?
Ginger: I believe that everyone understands there’s an increased demand on parents, and I have not come across anyone who’s looked at it as favoritism. In fact, it allows parents to be more engaged, because they do not have to work from home or take-off when their kids are out of daycare or school.
4word: What other types of policies have you heard of, or would you like to see more of, that encourage strong work and home environments?
Ginger: The back-up child care is the best program I’ve encountered because it’s great, consistent child care through an easy and efficient scheduling process. I would like to see more days of available back-up care – whether subsidized or not it’s the availability of quality care in any location on short notice that relieves a significant amount of stress for a parent.
4word: What advice do you have for other working moms of young children?
Ginger: Set your goals and priorities that specifically consider the goals of your husband and children so that you have a connected growth path.
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Raising children while working to advance your career is no easy feat. It requires balancing and teamwork, either from your spouse or family and friends. As Ginger said, success requires effort and a considerable amount of time. Set goals for your life with clear trajectories for your job and your family, and with the right amount of planning and perseverance, you will succeed.
Are you a working parent? What struggles do you face? How have you overcome them?
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Ginger Moore is a CPA, AICPA member and holds a BS in Accounting with a minor in Spanish from Rutgers University. Throughout her scholastic experience, Ginger also excelled at Volleyball, serving in the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Program which earned her a full-ride scholarship and team captain leadership role. She also participated in AVP Pro-Amateur Beach Volleyball from 2005 to 2010. She now currently resides in Philadelphia, with her loving husband Jon, 3 year old daughter Charly and 1 year old son Bonton.
Ginger first joined NBCUniversal in September of 2010 as Director Financial Reporting, NBCUniversal, Universal City, CA. Whilst early in her career with NBCU, Ginger provided significant contributions in helping to formulate the necessary financial reporting infrastructure toward establishing NBCUniversal as a standalone public company and consolidated subsidiary of Comcast; moreover, she also played a vital role in integration efforts associated with the closing of Comcast’s purchase of 51% of NBCUniversal from GE. Ginger joined NBCUniversal, Corporate Real Estate in January 2014 as Vice President, Americas Corporate Real Estate. In this role, Ginger is responsible for leading and managing the Americas Real Estate Team across a vast portfolio encompassing 13M square feet, 3 regions, and a diverse set of asset types including studios, warehouses, offices, parking, retail, antennas, cameras, and land.