Parents At Work Tom Spiggle, Owner of The Spiggle Law Firm

In today’s episode, Tom Spiggle and Lori Mihalich-Levin interview two engineer dads about their experience as working parents. We are joined by Matt Jensen, Business Owner and Senior Project Manager at Kimley-Horn, who has been an engineer manager and structural design specialist for over 20 years. We were also joined by Paul Andrukonis, Director of Personalization for Citi’s US Consumer Digital organization. 
Both dads share what it’s like to be a parent in the engineering field, as well as the cultural shifts that have been happening in the workplace. They discuss the importance of empathy and how client relationships have been impacted by developing a more common understanding, along with tangible tips on how to utilize a more flexible schedule. Join Tom Spiggle and Lori Mihalich-Levin in this interview to learn more about what it’s like to be a working dad in the engineering field. 
 
Show Highlights: 
Matt and Paul share their experiences as working parents  Having clear expectations of tasks is vital to successful co-parenting, when you’re both working parents  Matt and Paul share what it’s like to be a working parent as an engineer  The ability to work remotely and having a supportive community are huge benefits to working in engineering  Having parental leave for fathers and shared messaging are two work-place supports Paul wishes he would have had  Having easy access to work within your schedule can help you be much more efficient as a working parent  Back-up childcare is a great benefit for companies to offer It’s okay to ask to have flexibility with clients and to do things at home  Being grateful for what you have and trying to be understanding of others is important to help build empathy and be an effective working-parent  Matt and Paul share digital resources they use to make parenthood easier  Finding time for self-care is important to be your best self   
Links: 
https://www.spigglelaw.com
https://www.mindfulreturn.com
Contact Lori: 
Lori@mindfulreturn.com

What is it like to be a mom in a field where only 15% of practitioners are women?  In this episode of the Parents at Work Podcast, we interview Dhruva Lahon and Victoria Hills, who share what it’s like to be working mom engineers.  They talk about the experience of being managed, of managing others, and of parenting during COVID.  They also share how they found supports in this male-dominated field, along with how they leaned on family and friends and adopted flexible hours.  Join Tom Spiggle and Lori Mihalich-Levin in this knowledge-filled and inspiring conversation. 
 
Show Highlights: 
 
How having children changed Dhruva’s work life  Victoria shares how having children changed her work life  What it’s like to be a parent in the engineering field What it’s like to be a woman engineer  Beneficial work supports that Dhruva had as a new working parent  Work supports Dhruva wished she had  Work Supports that improved Victoria’s working parent experience  Why extended maternity leave improves the working parent experience and is an excellent retention tool How AI and technology is impacting working parents  Why you should utilize support from and for other moms in your workplace  Resources to navigate life as a working parent Why you should take life one day at a time   
Links: 
 
https://www.spigglelaw.com
 
https://www.mindfulreturn.com
 
Contact Lori: 
 
Lori@mindfulreturn.com
 
 
Resources: 
 
https://www.google.com/calendar/about/

Being a working parent looks different for every career, every family, and every parent. In today’s episode, Robin Smith, licensed marriage and family therapist shares his experience as a working dad in the mental health field. He shares wise insights, including the self-inflected pressure that can occur as a parent from having heightened awareness as a mental health professional, the shifts happening due to COVID-19, what it looks like to have grace and compassion for yourself and your children, and the many elements of being self-employed. Join Tom Spiggle and Lori Mihalich-Levin in this interview for incredible insight and advice from Robin Smith. 
 
Show Highlights: 
Robin shares his working parent story and how he navigated parental leave  Robin talks about how COVID has impacted his profession and how he’s used positive reinforcement to make a better environment to work at home  There’s great diversity in the experiences mental health professionals have  How being a mental health professional impacts work-life balance  Being a mental health professional can increase the strive for perfectionism and the feelings of shame when it isn’t met  Being self-employed can allow for flexibility but also means there are no professional supports  Why Robin wishes he would’ve had working dad groups to talk with during transitioning into parenthood  Transitioning into a digital space has been a major shift and has been difficult for many therapists  How will COVID change the future of therapy  Why intentionality is more important now than ever before  Why we should start with having self-compassion as a working-parent  Robin shares books and technology that have helped him on his working-parent journey   
Links: 
https://www.spigglelaw.com
https://www.mindfulreturn.com
Contact Lori: 
Lori@mindfulreturn.com
Resources: 
The Expectant Father
And Baby Makes Three
 
 

This month, we’re focusing on moms and dads in the mental health field. And today we‘re delighted to be joined by two working moms who are mental health professionals, Dr. Elizabeth Allen and Dr. Aimee Danielson, to talk about navigating life as a working parent.
Dr. Elizabeth Allen is an assistant professor of psychology and clinical psychiatry, and she’s also an assistant attending psychologist. She specializes in treating adolescents and young adults with anxiety disorders and OCD. Liz lives in New York, and she’s the mom of two girls, ages one and three. 
Dr. Aimee Danielson is an associate professor of psychiatry and OB-Gyn, and she’s the director of a women’s mental health program that provides treatment and support for pregnant and postpartum women. Aimee has had the privilege of working with mothers every day for the last twenty years, supporting them through their transitions into motherhood. She lives with her very supportive partner and her three wonderful daughters, ages seven, ten, and thirteen, in Arlington, Virginia.  
Be sure to listen in today, to benefit from Liz and Aimee‘s expertise, and to find out what they bring from their jobs to the way that they’re parenting their children. 
Show highlights:
Liz and Aimee share their working parent stories. Aimee talks about why she felt privileged, informed, and ready when she became a mother.   Aimee discusses the choice that she and her husband had to make when their eldest daughter was born with a serious health condition.  Aimee talks about the flexibility, creativity, and surrender that’s required from working parents. Looking at the different seasons of parenthood. Aimee explains why she feels that the mental health field is a good environment for working women. Some of the challenges of being a working mom in the mental health field. Liz talks about her experience of being a working mom in the mental health space. Being promoted and rising through the ranks can be difficult for working moms with small children. The kind of support that Liz and Aimee found helpful when they became working parents. The kind of support that Aimee and Liz would like to have had when they became parents. Transitioning from a work identity into a parent identity is important and can be difficult for men, when colleagues don’t know they became a parent. Women are feeling that they have to re-invent the wheel. Some things that would help working parents, going forward. Links: 
Contact Lori: 
https://www.mindfulreturn.com
Lori@mindfulreturn.com 
 
The Working Parent Group Network   
Contact Tom: 
https://www.spigglelaw.com/podcasts/parents-at-work/
For a copy of “You’re pregnant, You’re fired”- tom@spigglelaw.com 
 
Resources:
Books mentioned:
Laughter and Tears: The Emotional Life of New Mothers, by Elisabeth Bing and Libby Colman
Cribsheet, by Emily Oster 
Expecting Better, by Emily Oster
Back To work After Baby, by Lori Mihalich-Levin
The Awesomest 7 Year Postdoc or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Tenure-Track Faculty Life, by Professor Radhika Nagpal on the Scientific American blog.
App:
Carpool Kids 

COVID-19 has seemingly shifted everything about our work force and our family dynamics. As many of us are working from home and have children who are also now occupying that space, it can be a process to find a routine that works for everyone. 
 
Today Tom Spiggle and co-host Lori Mihalich-Levin share what has worked for them in their shift to working from home and actionable tips for parents to find some small amount of sanity in their work and parenting.. Join Tom and Lori to learn more about how you can integrate a schedule and use connections to make your at-home experience as productive as possible. 
 
Show Highlights: 
 
What staying home has looked like for Lori’s family  How creating a schedule and focusing on the present can create a smoother transition to working from home  How Tom’s family is adjusting to COVID-19 shifts  Dealing with the struggles that accompany work shifts for employees and parents  The struggles of keeping children occupied and balancing work from home  Protections that accompany leave  Action steps to find peace amongst chaos  Reaching out to others and connecting as a community   
Links: 
 
Contact Lori: 
 
https://www.mindfulreturn.com
 
Email Lori for Free Webinar on “How to Go Back to Work After Parental Leave” on April  2nd 
 
Lori@mindfulreturn.com 
 
Contact Tom: 
 
https://www.spigglelaw.com/podcasts/parents-at-work/
 
For a copy of “You’re pregnant, You’re fired”- tom@spigglelaw.com 

Join Tom Spiggle and co-host Lori Mihalich-Levin in this interview for great insight on not only the major impacts CSR is making today, but for practical tips to balance work and parent life.