The Mummies: Lauren Eddy and her cute Clio, June, 1
Meet the second trophy on our shelf, and in our opinion, the cutest Clio we’ve ever seen — little June, aged 1. Daughter of Lauren Eddy, Senior Copywriter at Bullfrog and Co-host of our very own podcast, Mums on Call. Recently returning to work, we asked Lauren what her experience has been like, “so far, it's been positive - like I'd never left. The work hasn't changed. The people haven't changed. I half expected my creative brain to liquify into sweet potato puree but, lo and behold, I'm still me.”
While work hasn’t changed a whole lot, her priorities have, “one thing I have noticed is that time feels more valuable. Working hours are now capped because of drop-offs and pick-ups, so I have no choice but to be productive. I can't start at 7am and work through dinner anymore. Oh, what a shame! Maybe everyone should protect their time as fiercely as a new parent does.”
When asked for her hot-return-to-work tips, she shares, “my experience has been made easier due to the fact we started daycare a couple of months before I went back. This allowed me to prepare emotionally for returning to work; to practise being separated from the person who I still feel is very much a part of me. I am almost used to it now, and so is she. It also gave us a taste of the germs we can look forward to over the next few years. A tissue, a tissue, we all fall down!”
And while building up that toddler-induced immunity, Lauren feels somewhat hesitant around potentially taking leave, “thinking ahead, the inevitable prospect of calling in sick because my daughter is sick does make me a little nervous. Not because my workplace isn't 100% understanding. Honestly, it's the ambiguity that scares me. When push comes to shove, will I be strong enough to maintain my boundaries? Others don't, so why should I? Or perhaps I should, so others will too.”
But she has comfort knowing the frogs in the Bullfrog pond are very understanding ones. “On a personal note, I already feel incredibly supported. To the point where I actually feel a bit guilty for the amount of support I've had access to throughout my pregnancy, parental leave, and return to work. At Bullfrog, I was lucky enough to have 6 months' paid parental leave, which I took over 12 months. They have also made sure that my transition back to work has been smooth and supportive. I've been able to ease back into 3 days a week, with flexible hours to accommodate the daycare pickup.”
And the support doesn’t stop there for Lauren, “not only am I lucky enough to have a wonderful workplace, I have had the entire Aunties network of mums and mentors to call on for advice. Plus, I literally co-host a podcast called Mums on Call, where myself and Katarina Matic get to quiz industry mums about the realities of having kids and a career in advertising. When it came to studying for my next role as a working mum, I've done all the theory. Now, for the prac!”
And she acknowledges there’s still plenty of work that needs to be done industry wide, “on a macro level, while the industry landscape is infinitely better than it was, we must continue to drum home the basics: flexible hours, part time contracts, WFH, and all that good stuff. These things are (almost) always offered to parents, but the nature of our fast-paced service industry makes them hard to maintain in practice. Yes, it does take more effort to manage a project when one person doesn't work Fridays and another has to leave at 3pm. But I've seen it done, and damn well, too. If more managers and businesses were brave enough to embrace a truly flexible team environment (for both mums and dads), our industry would retain a lot more valuable talent.”
Seeing her co-workers lead by example has been incredibly helpful in carving out an accepting, understanding and flexible space to be herself at work. “Probably the biggest help has been role modelling from other parents in my department. Seeing them weave work around the complexities of their own family lives makes me feel understood, and gives me hope that I can, as they say, 'have it all.'”
📸 by Heather Dinas
📝 by Phoebe Sloane
