From: EMN002@email.mot.com (Mary Beth Northrup)
Subject: Re: Is There A Mommy Track for Technical Professionals?
Organization: Motorola, Inc. Plantation, FL
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 14:19:16 GMT

In article <MfN4otu00WBOI4QDMT@andrew.cmu.edu>, Laura McGinnis <lm3a+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:

> It's kind of funny, where my office is located here at the university,
> the department I'm in is mostly family people - 1 or more kids, a couple
> on they way, etc (30 people, 25 kids).  Right next to our department is
> another technical department, mostly "nerd" types - 10-12 hour days are
> the norm, etc.  The other department has "cooler" equipment and neater
> graphics & toys, but ours is more productive in the University's eyes,
> judging from the perceptions I hear about on campus.  Plus our
> department has more fun (to me, "more fun" = "less stress") - to the
> point where some of the people in the other department join ours for
> pick-up softball, football, & tennis matches, etc.  They've even been
> known to crash our parties & one guy went so far as to pursuade both
> departments that his position should be transferred to our department,
> since he was spending most of his time doing tech support for us (we
> know he really wanted to get in on our monthly donut binges :-).  Also,
> turn-over in our department seems to be lower, and project-completion
> seems to be higher.  In the things that are important to me
> professionally, our family-oriented department seems to rate higher than
> the techie group.
> 
> Sorry for ranting, rambling & raving.  I'm happy to see my department
> isn't the only place that acknowledges & appreciates the efforts parents
> put into their jobs (both at home & in the office).  Thanks, again, Mark.
> 
> Laura
> 
> 
It's been my experience that no matter what the "company policies" are, 
and how "family friendly" the company is supposed to be, the individual
manager really sets the tone for how family-friendly the department REALLY
is. I'm lucky in that I have a terrific, supportive manager who understands
that if my son is sick - I'm outta there. But, I've heard stories from
moms in other groups about non-sympathetic bosses, hassles from coworkers
about needing time off or more flexible schedules. 

I'm here 9 hours a day,
work very hard and am considered a good performer. I am not penalized for
the occasional days off to care for my child, because I make it up other
times. But, some of the research departments expect you to be there hours
and hours a day and you aren't considered to be a dedicated employee if
you put in "only" 8 or 9 hours per day. Even though Motorola is trying
hard to change the culture and has implemented new policies like
transitional leave, flexible work options, etc, many people won't take
advantage of them because they're afraid it will impact promotional
opportunities or they can't afford to go part time, etc.

I've kicked around the idea of 4 x 10 hr days or 9 x 9 hr days 
(with the 10th day off), but have always dismissed the idea because
it would mean less time here and I'm swamped as it is. And, frankly, I'm
bucking for a promotion to the next level and I don't want to do anything
that may hurt it. I'm coping OK now, but am considering a second child.
I'm not sure just how I will be able to balance things then!

Mary Beth Northrup
EMN002@email.mot.com
mommy to Sean, 19 mo old already!
Newsgroups: misc.jobs.misc