Daisy Dowling - Workparent: The Complete Guide to Succeeding on the Job, Staying True to Yourself, and Raising Happy Kids

Workparent is the ultimate guide for excelling as a parent and a professional. Filled with powerful and practical tips, its an indispensable toolbox for the modern working parent.

MATT BREITFELDER, Senior Partner and Head of Human Capital, Apollo Global Management

Becoming a working parent is a joyous yet incredibly challenging transition for anyone. Daisy Dowlings wonderful book provides a comprehensive road map for navigating the practical challenges that all working parents face. Packed with exercises and thought-provoking questions, Workparent is a must-read for anyone juggling work and parenting.

JENNIFER PETRIGLIERI, author, Couples That Work

The time has come for a truly inclusive book on one of the most significant and universal challenges of our time: how to meet the demands and desires of being a great parent while also being great at your work. This is that book! Wonderfully packed with strategies and tactics that can make a difference for any working parent.

FRANS JOHANSSON, CEO, The Medici Group; author, The Medici Effect

Daisy Dowlings book is a lifeline of much-needed support for those of us workparents who strive to be more intentional and more effective in raising kids while having careers. If you want to learn how to stay emotionally healthy while successfully navigating the contradictions of workparenting, this book is for you.

EVAN WITTENBERG, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, Ancestry

Workparent offers practical and extremely valuable detailed advice on how to navigate each stage of being a working parent. As a working parent and as a human resources leader, I found myself nodding as I read through much of the wisdom Dowling lays out, from setting personal boundaries and owning your narrative to establishing your Village as a way to ensure you have the support you need from before birth up through the teenage years. This book speaks to you as a whole person and encourages you to think of yourself as a whole person as well. It is only from this place that any of us can hope to live fulfilled, integrated personal and work lives.

LAILA TARRAF, Chief People Officer, Allbirds

In her latest book, Daisy Dowling deconstructs the conflicts between parenting and work and illuminates how both parts of our lives can coexist and feed one another. Workparent outfits us with actionable tips and insights to integrate our journey as parents with our career aspirations with confidence, not apologies.

SCOTT BELSKY, founder, Behance; Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President, Creative Cloud, Adobe; and author, The Messy Middle

Daisy Dowling has delivered the definitive guide for working parents. A must-read for anyone struggling with the dual challenges of careers and kids.

CAL NEWPORT, author, A World Without Email and Deep Work

Workparent

The Complete Guide to

Succeeding on the Job,

Staying True to Yourself,

and Raising Happy Kids

DAISY DOWLING

Harvard Business Review Press

Boston, Massachusetts

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Copyright 2021 Daisy Dowling

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed to , or mailed to Permissions, Harvard Business School Publishing, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02163.

The web addresses referenced in this book were live and correct at the time of books publication but may be subject to change.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Dowling, Daisy, author.

Title: Workparent : the complete guide to succeeding on the job, staying true to yourself, and raising happy kids / by Daisy Dowling.

Description: Boston, MA : Harvard Business Review Press, 2021.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020047848 (print) | LCCN 2020047849 (ebook) | ISBN 9781633698390 (paperback) | ISBN 9781633698406 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: ParentingHandbooks, manuals, etc. | Work and familyHandbooks, manuals, etc. | Work-life balanceHandbooks, manuals, etc.

Classification: LCC HD4904.25 .D6657 2021 (print) | LCC HD4904.25 (ebook) | DDC 650.1085dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020047848

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020047849

ISBN: 978-1-63369-839-0

eISBN: 978-1-63369-840-6

This book is dedicated to you,

and to all working parents.

It is also and always for
L, P, and M.

I love you.

CONTENTS

1. The five key truthsUnderstanding your Workparent TemplateAnnouncing the newsWhen others arent expecting itHow to handle questions and detractorsWhat to begin planning for and what can wait
2. When to start lookingWhat kind of care?Finding, assessing, choosing, and hiring a care providerWhat you may be thinking and feelingThe first few days and weeksCommunicating with your caregiver(s)If you need to make a changeEmergency and backup careTrusted caregivers, happy child
3. Planning your leaveLeave length: what if ?Creating an effective transition and coverage planStaying in touch while youre outHow to use leave when youre not the primary caregiverHow to feel in charge of your career while awayWays to make the return to work easierOwning your narrativeThe one-month check-inCelebrating new achievements
4. Establishing a Point of ControlLearning to make effective transitions to and from workStaying and feeling connected while on the jobCreating a new daily schedule that worksfor youNavigating the important Year One milestonesRemaining visibleTaking charge of your performance reviewSetbacksand how to overcome them
5. Making the most of care transitionsBonding with your child through activityHarnessing the power of repetition and ritualExplaining work to very small childrenConfronting the screen-time dilemmaStill owningand updatingyour storyConsidering changes at workStaying on the right pathfor you
6. Considering the pros and consWhen you still cant decideWhat to know and do when moving from one child to two or moreLarge-family strategies useful for all working parents
7. Why the start of school is hard, and how to make it easierEducating them at homeand every dayDeveloping a strong relationship with your childs teacher(s)HomeworkAfter-school activitiesTalking with your manager and colleagues about school commitmentsVolunteeringHow to be presentand what to do when you cantSafetyHandling school-related emergenciesWhen schools outbut work isntThe working-parent-friendly school
8. Making the relationship positiveHow to keep them safe when youre not around to play police officerStaying connected when busy on the jobGetting them ready for adulthoodwithout dropping the ball on your careerHandling the logistics of next stepsMaking workparenting your teen easier