I am happy as a mother and a professional.

Andrea-Laura Hebib is a Regional Manager at globegarden – and a mom of three children. Combining family and career is natural for her. Not working was never an option for the early childhood educator. A conversation about long days, the importance of serenity, and good childcare.

In your job, you’re responsible for around 65 employees. Your youngest child is still in primary school. How do you manage that?

We are very well organized as a family. Everyone takes on their tasks and responsibilities. In the evening, we spend time together as a family. It’s also important that each of us has some time for ourselves. I’m often asked how I can manage both. For me, it’s a matter of attitude. Neither my partner nor I have ever questioned whether I should work or not. I find that crucial for our children too. Of course, I want to be there for them and spend time with them. But I don’t want to pretend either. I really enjoy working and that makes me happy. If I were to sit at home frustrated or bored, they wouldn’t benefit from that either.

Are there also moments when you think you might have taken on too much?

Yes, of course. It would be strange if not. I think every working mother knows this feeling. What helps me is that I really love my job and it makes me happy. From this, I can draw calmness and serenity – even when things get tough. The supportive and appreciative atmosphere at globegarden certainly helps too. Even at the executive level, the principle “The child comes first” applies. When things get challenging with our own kids in care, there are always flexible and pragmatic solutions. This is not something you can take for granted with many employers. I really appreciate it. It has contributed to me never feeling pressured to choose between being a mother and my profession.

How important are good childcare offers to your family?

When our first child was born, the childcare offerings were very sparse. Large parts of society saw this as the woman’s task. Mothers who wanted to remain professionally active had a tough time. If there was outside care, it was more likely to be grandparents or childminders. That wasn’t enough for me. Childcare should be associated with encouragement and education. Playing is a very important element. But other things are important too: social skills, for example, which you only learn in a group, then languages, dealing with numbers, making music or crafting, just to name a few. This is what educational childcares like those operated by globegarden can provide. That’s why I’m happy that quite a bit has changed here and the offerings are much larger and better. Childcares relieve families and give parents freedom. From my point of view, this is important for the whole family and everyone benefits from it.

“Neither my partner nor I have ever questioned whether I should work or not. I find that crucial for our children, too. Of course, I want to be there for them and spend time with them. But I don’t want
to pretend either. I really enjoy working and that makes me happy.”