Women Managers on the Go / Jessica Spina: Lightness is Like Salt in Desserts

The right recipe for an International business traveller like me is a correct mix of these ingredients:

1) Agreement on the work-family project by my family itself and my company. I was very lucky in this. I married a man who has always believed in a common project of work-family, has always been proud of my work successes and has always shared the onus and honor of caring for three children. Ever since I was young, my husband has been able to transform my days of travel (and absence) into a party: dinner with sushi and pizza instead of vegetables and fruit ... what a joy !!! And even my mother, mother-in-law and nanny, instead of scolding me about the duties of the -perfect "mamma", devoted to kitchen and husband, have always been proud of my work, sharing their enthusiasm and emotions. At work I found an organization that allowed me flexibility and inventiveness, trusting the results and not always asking just where and when. And when there is sharing the organization (unavoidable) it turns from anxiety into factual project.

2) Awareness. Reconciling work with a family by truly dedicating oneself to both requires a great deal of effort, which one must be willing to endure! Dedicating oneself to one thing is inevitably easier, requiring less complexity. Doing both things lovingly requires the conscious acceptance of the resulting fatigue, compromise and imperfection.

3) Lightness. In this recipe for the mythical work-family balance, lightness is like salt in dessert recipes: that pinch of something that makes it all tastier. Work, commitment, organization ... all indispensable ingredients. But luck is also necessary, and luck helps the brave! And a bit of lightness and madness are essential, to transform a problem (I missed the plane ...) into an opportunity (I'll buy you a gift), solitude (of hotels ...) into a moment for oneself (I get a massage ), absence into an alternative way to share (send me your Latin homework by WhatsApp and I'll have a look) or into the real possibility of leaving space for autonomy (I can do it myself!).

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Women Managers on the Go / Alexia Giugni: Delays Must Be Foreseen and Exploited