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Oct 12 2022

How four moms at Meta are finding work-life flexibility

By Meta Careers
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When we're talking about work and life at Meta, we champion "work-life flexibility,” which gives people the space and autonomy to make room for what’s most important to them. This is especially important for our working parents at Meta. We sat down with four inspiring mothers to learn more about their journey to motherhood, how they find flexibility and how they carve out space for themselves.

What was your journey to motherhood?

="Claire with her husband and children"
Claire and family at one of our Take Your Kids to Work days

Claire, Executive Assistant

After four years, IVF helped me get pregnant with my son Ethan. I had an easy pregnancy, and he was delivered by C-section. About an hour after he was born, Ethan was diagnosed with a rare heart problem. He had to have open heart surgery at three days old, but his body didn't cope well and his lungs failed. He was put on life support. Miraculously Ethan pulled through. I got to hold him for the first time at four weeks, and he came home when he was seven weeks old. He has some additional needs now, and Meta gives me a lot of support and flexibility.
="Camila and her family sitting on a couch"
Camila and family on St. Patrick’s Day

Camila, Learning Delivery Partner

In 2017, I found out I was pregnant with twins. I am a small person, and I had a tough pregnancy with a lot of complications. I delivered two healthy twin babies, but three days after, I went into heart failure and I was diagnosed with a rare disease called Postpartum Cardiomyopathy. I nearly died. It took more than a year to fully recover.
During the most difficult time of my life, Meta supported me in every way you can imagine. After my heart failure, I wasn’t able to take care of my twins. Meta delivered food to our home every single day for two months, and even helped us find baby nurses.
Meta removed the stress of worrying about my job because they knew what was important: my family, my mental well-being and my heart. I'm just very humbled to work for this amazing company.
="Tiqvah with her husband and children"
Tiqvah and family at home

Tiqvah, Global Operations

After multiple unsuccessful pregnancies, my daughter Mireya was born. I loved every moment of being a mom. But that became my only identity, and I wanted to be recognized as more than that. That's when I joined Meta. I loved how the role allowed me to use the skills I have in ways beyond caring for my family. But six months in, I had a surprise pregnancy. I had to rediscover how to be invested in my career while continuing to be a mom.
="Fiona playing video games with her children"
="Fiona standing outdoors wearing sunglasses"
Fiona enjoying time with her girls and by Grand Canal Quay near the office

Fiona, Enterprise Operations International Director

I got pregnant quickly and had no complications. At the time, the company I worked for didn't have fully paid maternity leave and I had to go back to work relatively early. There were very few mothers in the office. It was challenging to find myself as a new mother in that environment.

What advice would you give mothers who are returning to work after their first child?

Tiqvah: As someone who is a bit of a control freak, I usually need to have everything planned ahead. After the birth of my daughter, I learned to go with the flow.
Fiona: Don’t be afraid to ask for help from close friends and colleagues. I was afraid to be vulnerable, and if I had been, it would have made it easier for me back when my kids were small.

What are some of the ways Meta supports you as a working mom?

Camila: Meta has been amazing since day one when I started to have a lot of complications during my pregnancy. Last year, when I came back to work, I was still recovering from my heart failure. Meta was very concerned about my health and tried to accommodate my needs in every way you can imagine. My role typically requires a lot of traveling, and due to my situation, my team has been so understanding with me not being able to travel.
Claire: We have two amazing family events every year in Ireland that I help organize. The first is Take Your Kids to Work Day. The second is the children's holiday party in early December. They’re great opportunities to meet other parents you wouldn't have met otherwise.
Fiona: Meta provides wonderful benefits, like financial support for baby-related expenses. We have paid maternity and paternity leave. There’s also a program called Rethink, which provides coaching sessions for parents of children who have learning difficulties or behavioral challenges.

Speaking of working from home, right now we’re all encouraged to work from home due to COVID-19. How are you juggling it with caring for your children right now?

Claire: It’s hard for the kids knowing that I'm in the house, but can’t chat anytime they want. I'm trying to schedule breaks and lunches at specific times where I can spend time with them.
Fiona: The one thing I would say about parenting in general is today's rule is not tomorrow's rule. I've set a schedule for the children. So far it's going well, although one of my daughters decided to do all of her homework yesterday. We'd like to pace that out a little bit.

How do you make space between children, your personal life and work?

Claire: It's so hard when your children are small. Now that my kids are in primary school, they're more independent. I have a long commute, so I use that time to read books, listen to podcasts, just put on music and daydream out the window.
Tiqvah: It's only been in the past two years that I've begun this journey of discovering who I am and what I need for myself. It's been a deliberate process of being able to say, "Hey, I just want to be by myself for now. I'm going to sit and watch Trevor Noah and laugh my head off at something silly."

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This post, originally published on April 24, 2020, was updated on October 12, 2022, to reflect our shift to Meta and new details about team members, roles and responsibilities.

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