Getting to Yes, And

Joann Lublin: Power Moms

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Joann Lublin

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Kelly talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Joann Lublin about her new book Power Moms: How Executive Mothers Navigate Work and Life.

I think it’s really important that you shine a light not just on gender in the workplace, but being a mother and the binds that still occur even today.‍

“Well, luckily, there is a much higher percentage of players today that offer maternity leave. The proportion of employers that offer parental leave, irrespective of gender, or even marital status is still relatively low and it's all still relatively low for paternity leave. But you know the real crime, in my opinion, in this country is the fact that we're one of the few industrialized nations that does not have a national mandate for paid family leave whatever the reason, not just for childbearing or child rearing.”

You introduce us to a term I’ve never heard before: ‘tele-pressure.’

“I think it's terrible for good mental health to be always on; to essentially worship at the God of ‘tele-pressure,’ but I also was very encouraged by the fact there are some companies that are recognizing that this is essentially a formula for burnout. You have to set the tone at the top, and you have to establish a corporate culture that does not make ‘tele-pressure’ or being always on the acceptable way to work.”

Another great term you introduce us to is ‘work-life sway.’

“So it's different than work-life balance, right? It is not only different than work-life balance, it is the opposite of work-life balance. It is a phrase I had never heard of before I started reporting this book, I was educated and made aware of it by one of the younger power moms. And I was so enamored with this concept, I wanted it to be the subtitle of the book and my publisher said ‘No, you can't call the book power moms the secrets of work-life sway. Because no one will have the foggiest idea what you were talking about.’ But the idea of work life sway is that there is no such thing as work life balance, it is like assuming an impossible yoga pose. You cannot have work life balance, but you can acknowledge that there are going to be moments in your life when you have to be 110% there for your job and there are other moments in your life, where you have to be 110% there for your family.”


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