Adobe parents find a new normal

Ankur Mehrotra and his family.

We’re all facing new challenges as the world changes around us. Many of us may be caring for others as we also try to take care of ourselves. Some of our Adobe parents shared how their households have changed as work and home lives have become more intertwined.

A new normal

Greg Bush, talent partner in Lehi, has two children: Asher, age 5, and Ainsley, age 2. “There certainly has been some adjusting to working from home. Early on it was harder as the children didn’t quite understand that Daddy was at work when I was just in the other room.”

Blending work and home in the same space can be quite a challenge, and many teams have become accustomed to occasional family cameos during meetings.

“They’ve both had moments where they run in while I’m on a call. Lately we have settled into a good routine where they know that when the office door is closed, it’s like I’m not actually here.”

Despite sometimes feeling isolated from their community, Bush’s family has been able to spend more quality time together. “We’ve been getting outside together more. My son and I try to go out fishing some mornings and evenings, which is great.”

Diana Keeble, senior regional safety and security manager, Asia Pacific/Japan in Sydney, is adjusting to her schedule as her family finds their new normal.

“I have aggressively timetabled my day out — blocking time out to make sure the kids are taken to school and sports, rather than fitting them in when going to and from work. As a single parent, trying to manage my time effectively has been key to keeping my household going and my children happy.”

Adjusting routines & finding time for family

Ankur Mehrotra, multi-solution architect in Germany, was already accustomed to working from home, but faced new challenges with their 3-year-old at home.

“The most difficult part was to deliver at work while managing a young child at home. In the first few weeks of lockdown it was very hard for our toddler to understand that we could not engage with him all day or allow him to play with friends.

“My wife and I came up with a system of sharing our daily meeting schedules to avoid overlaps, and scheduling tasks after bedtime. It worked most days, but it was exhausting. Luckily, daycare is open again and we have better control of our time now.”

With the help of flexibility from his team and managers, support from our Adobe parents group and online exercise classes, Mehrotra and his family have been able to manage the day-to-day and spend quality time together. “We’ve grown much closer in the last few months and discovered that cooking and baking together as a family helps keep our spirits high.”

Pat Wibbeler, director, engineering in California, has been busy both with the business and his family. “It’s been a very busy time for us, as Document Cloud has so many opportunities in this situation. I’m still trying to be flexible so that I can take care of myself and my family. I block time between meetings for runs, moved my desk so that I can look out a window while working, share an office with my daughter, and even let my son give me a haircut.”

How we’re supporting our employees

We care about how our employees feel — from good health and eating well to being happy and resilient. Wellbeing is about how you feel physically and emotionally, which helps employees bring their best self to any situation. Some of our meaningful benefits include:

• Wellbeing resources: The health and wellbeing of our employees is always our top priority, and resources are available to alleviate stress and anxiety. Employees have access to resources such as virtual wellbeing seminars, 24/7 counseling services, apps for meditation and personal health coaching, and a wellness reimbursement fund.
• Virtual learning: We pivoted our live employee career development courses by creating a virtual learning series aligned to our Adobe Capabilities to ensure that we keep investing in and supporting our people managers and employees during this time. Courses range from how to lead virtual teams, leading through change, building inclusion, and more.
• Work from home expense fund: As work and home blend into the same space, this fund provides $500 USD to all employees to create comfortable and ergonomically friendly workspaces.
• Time-off grace period: To help those who face extenuating circumstances that make it difficult to work from home, we offered a grace period to employees who accrue time off wherein they are able to take time off without deducting from their paid time-off balance.
• Regular company-wide day off: Taking time off is important to manage life outside of work or recharge, even if we can’t go anywhere. While we have PTO and COVID-19 time-off benefits available for employees to use, we know that there is power in taking time off together to fully unplug. Which is why we’ve instituted a global day off every three weeks on Fridays until December 2020.