In April of 2022 I, like so many women that have come before me, found out I was on a 9-month (physical and emotional) rollercoaster that would lead to me becoming a Mom (ok, a human-child’s mom….we all know Arlo is, and will always be, my “first born”). It was exciting! It was terrifying!
It was all the things that every woman that’s ever been through it tells you it is.
As a business-owner, I was lucky enough to sit in a seat where when the news sunk in, I did not head to a place so many women often do when they process the gravity and impact of this chapter—a place of anxiety over work and how to confront an employer with this happy yet, disruptive news. In fact, having already established (what I believed to be) a generous maternity leave policy (3 months+ fully paid leave), I recognize just how blessed I was to have my biggest concern be quite simply, making sure I could transition some of my work to other parties within the company.
At RNG, I have always worked to embrace life in all its messy, untidy, and exciting ways.
I coach our team on the belief that there are no lines between life and work. No, instead, it’s all one big life; work is simply a piece (a big piece) that plays into that symphony. It’s why one of our core values is “Respect and Enjoy the Adventure”; a homage to the fact that there are many “ups” and “downs” as a part of our careers and lives. At RNG, I want to embrace those, and have employees feel like they can bring their full and authentic selves to the table—not just their “work selves”.
And, even with that value established, as I sit in my final days (we pray) of pregnancy, I can’t help but reflect on how I should/could have done more for my maternity-embracing employees that came before me (Zoe, Bianca, and Hailey—I’m looking at you) and in general, for all my employees.
If pregnancy has taught (and is teaching me) anything, it’s that our human condition can’t be “boxed” up nicely.
Indeed, it has been a very visceral example of how volatile my emotional state can be (thanks hormones!), but also a true reminder of the importance of mental and physical health. It’s thrown into focus why buzz-words like “quiet quitting”, “burn out”, and “toxic boomer culture” have been widely circulating the most popular articles on Linkedin. Even for a company like RNG that already embraces a flexible work schedule, this whole “growing another human” has proven a RIPE reminder that all too often, the “benefits” we tout as employers fall short of meeting the unpredictability of “real life”.
As a small business and an employer of nine full-time employees, I recognize the dichotomy that exists in this realization. On the one hand, I’m passionate about growing this business—about hitting revenue and profitability targets; about increasing salaries for everyone on my team; about making more of an impact in the communities we serve by helping businesses grow.
Another core value at RNG—“’Tenacious ‘Tegrity: we’re tenacious about our clients’ and our own success. We do what we say we’re going to do!”. I understand that in order to reach our goals, fulfill this core value, and hit the milestones we want to hit, we quite frankly, need to work—and that work can be demanding at times. Plus, you add in the limitations of being a small company with fewer resources and a smaller budget and BAM—it’s easy to see why again, so many small (and large) employers find themselves lacking in benefits//policies//maternity leave//ethos that embrace the more “human” sides of work.
So here we are, at a crossroad.
And, maybe it’s the hormones talking but through this 10-month (yes, it’s 10 months…no one really makes that clear enough) journey, it’s become increasingly clear to me that we all do our best work when we’re healthy. Mentally, physically, emotionally (all the “-ally’s”) healthy. And thus, as I move forward with RNG and our team, I’m committing to working both internally and externally to embrace cultures that allow for the space for our team to be just that—healthy.
Here are some of the ways I’m tactically going to implement this:
Ultimately, like so many of my peers, I’m constantly learning that entrepreneurship is a road, and not a finite destination.
I’m grateful to have a team of colleagues that respect the fact that I too, am on a journey of learning and growth, and that there is a lack of judgement as we all navigate mistakes/learning lessons. And, despite the discomfort (and boy, there is a LOAD of that!), I’m grateful that pregnancy exists (for a number of reasons, obviously) and has created an opportunity for me to keep learning how to be a better teammate, a better leader, and a better human.
And from here, at least at RNG, I can promise that flexibility and compassion for our team will no longer be referenced as “benefits” like maternity leave and PTO but simply understood; a part of our DNA.
With love,
Jessica
Jessica is President and Founder of Route Networking Group
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