Being a mom is an incredibly remarkable and absolutely humbling experience. That said, it’s not easy.
Jocelin Shalom learned this lesson pretty quickly. Shalom is the senior manager for US brand communications at Adidas and recently became a mom. Ask her which of the two is the most difficult title, and she’ll quickly tell you the latter.
After having her baby over the summer, the Portland, OR mom updated her LinkedIn profile , where her current position reads: “mom, maternity leave.” In her description, she explains being a mother is “hands down” the hardest job yet.
As for the skills she picked up along the way? She says she’s “learning lessons of endurance, patience, compromise, efficiency, resilience, creative thinking, courage and vulnerability.”
Shalom couldn’t have said it any better. Learning the ins and outs of parenting is hard work, and often a bit overwhelming. Which is why the mom is also giving a shout out to her company, Adidas, for its incredible maternity leave.
Working Mother shared the mom’s message on LinkedIn, where Shalom expresses her immense gratitude to her employer and calls on other companies to step up.
“I updated LinkedIn with my newest job, Mom, because we need to talk more about decent parental leave in this country. Grateful Adidas not only has a six-month maternity leave policy, but encourages and supports you in taking it,” she says.
The Portland mom knows the challenges she’s being faced with now will make her a better worker when she returns.
“This is the hardest job I’ve ever had, and the one I’m most proud of. And I’m confident these experiences will make me a stronger, wiser, more courageous and more creative employee when I go back.”
Unfortunately, not every employer is as generous when it comes to parental leave. And some pregnant women even face downright discrimination on the job. Take Kameisha Denton , who was fired after her manager heard about her upcoming maternity leave. Luckily, in the end, justice was served for the Washington state employee.
