Tanuka Gordon, Director of Product, Social & Mobile
Mar 28, 2012 -
Redwood Shores, CA—As many working moms can attest, it is not easy figuring out what works for you and your family in terms of balancing work with motherhood. I became a mother to a beautiful daughter, Esha, about 8 months ago, and with that amazing change came a lot of self-reflection on what was important to me in my life. I was at a full-time job that I loved at Inflection with people that I loved.
"...I really cherished all the small moments with my daughter. And those small moments are ones I will never get back."The company had given me the opportunity to be a part of the leadership team and work on super exciting channels in product management. It was a challenging job, but not a job I wanted to leave.
I also knew that I had fallen completely in love with motherhood and that I really cherished all the small moments with my daughter. And those small moments are ones I will never get back. That simple fact kept haunting me while I spent workdays away from my daughter. I realized that I was not completely happy being away from her as much as I was.
So about 2 months ago, when Esha turned 6 months, I made an important decision in my life. I asked my managers if I could switch to a part-time role to spend more time with my daughter.
Lucky for me and my family, Inflection is a rare gem of a company. It is a fast-paced, growing technology startup in Silicon Valley, where the executive leadership understands the importance of balancing personal life with work; where family values are important. When I first spoke to our CEO, Matthew, about the change, his immediate reaction was that he was very happy for me and that we could together figure out how to make things work.
I've been part-time now for about a month and a half, and I can say with conviction that it was the perfect decision for me at this point in my life. I have a schedule now that truly works for both my work and family life. I can still make strong contributions to our growing team at Inflection, but be around to watch Esha crawl for the very first time.
I feel grateful that I am with a company that has made it possible to appreciate the small moments in life.
