Flexible Work and Motherhood - Meet Katie Babcock
Katie Babcock balances work and career with careful planning.
Katie Babcock, who joined Booz Allen Hamilton in 1998, works in the Leavenworth, Kansas office, where she and her husband Ryan are associates on the IT team. Babcock serves as a requirements analyst for a military client. With a six-month-old daughter and 9-year-old son, she knows something about staying organized.
“What worked for me was making a plan for both my maternity leave and return to work with my manager, client, and team,” Babcock says. “Having a plan in place allowed me to enjoy my time at home with my new baby and eased my transition back to work.
“I try to keep work and home separate,” she adds. “My children have my attention at home, and when they go to sleep, I can plug back in and address any remaining issues for the day. I also combine tasks. Catching up with my spouse, getting exercise, and spending time with my children can all be done at once while we take a walk. And if a chore at home doesn’t get done, I don’t stress about it. I try to stay flexible—life becomes even more unpredictable when you add a new child.”
Babcock’s manager and team have been supportive. “I have a formal flexible work arrangement in place that allows me to work from home once a week. At the office, I’ve been provided with a private place as a nursing mom. I don’t feel like I’ve missed any opportunity because of my new role. It’s important to me to remain an active, valued member of the team.”
She suggests new moms find support networks within the firm and the community. “It’s been pivotal to me to be part of the Booz Allen Parents and FlexWork Forums and to find mentors within the firm who have successfully managed career and family. There’s no reason to recreate the wheel—learn from those who have been there and apply what will work for you to your life.”
Babcock says she received great advice on balancing work and family during a brown bag event at the firm, co-sponsored by several forums. “Someone said to think of the responsibilities in your life as balls, and decide which balls are made of glass. When you have to juggle them, just don’t drop the glass balls, because they will break.
“When making decisions, I ask myself, what will I think about this decision when I’m an old woman? It helps put things in perspective.”
story posted October 1, 2008
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