The Forced Choice Between Career and Caretaking (Best of with Annie Dean)

#165 — Parenting is a 24/7 job, but we've found most employers treat it more like an extracurricular activity. 

For the first episode of our best-of series, we're revisiting our podcast's very first interview (#002). This conversation about flexibility in the workplace, though, takes on new meaning right now. As we continue to blend work and motherhood amid this pandemic, the reality that today's workplace fails women and families on a regular basis grows ever more glaring. 

In this episode, we hear from Annie Dean, then-co-CEO of Werk, a people-analytics platform on a mission to update company policies to reflect modern realities. She walks us through her realization that the 16-hour workdays and overnight travel she'd been so used to putting in pre-pregnancy were simply incompatible with her new role as a mother. In short, she faced a forced choice between career and care. 

She saw how ambitious, high-performing women like herself were opting out of leadership pipelines — and out of the workforce, altogether — and it didn't make sense. By introducing low-cost, high-impact options for flexibility in the workplace, employers could hold onto this talent, all while increasing productivity, retention, and engagement across the entire team. 

For too long, the idea of flexibility has been poorly defined and deemed a burden. The objectives of the employer and the needs of the employee don't have to be at odds, though. Annie predicts that companies eager to treat flexibility as a key strategic component will win the war on talent because they're dealing in a new currency their competitors are too afraid to embrace.

This episode is brought to you by Nanit, the only baby monitor you need.

For full show notes, go to startupparent.com/165.