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 If you're a fan of the AMC series "Mad Men," which offers a glimpse of the advertising profession in 1960, you may have noticed that there is no hint of work-life balance issues. After all, women were mostly at home taking care of the life side of that equation.
Not only has the equation changed, but the culture of the profession itself has shifted -- away from the martini-lunch end of the scale and closer to the pressure-cooker end, says Pat Lupino, a consultant and marketing professor at Nassau Community College who spent 20 years in corporate marketing, where she oversaw advertising. She calls it "one of those crazy businesses where you are, on so many levels, subject to pressures outside of your control" -- specifically, clients' changing needs.
And that means that working parents in these jobs can face built-in challenges when it comes to meshing work and home lives.
A work-life survey last year with 434 responses from New York metro area women in advertising, marketing, film/television and other communications roles found 39 percent reporting that flexibility is one of the satisfying elements of their jobs. On the other hand, 32 percent pointed to lack of work-life balance as a frustrating element. (The study was conducted by the New York Women's Media Council, a coalition of communications associations, on which I represent the Newswomen's Club of New York.)
"When you're a happier person, you're a happier parent."
--Nadine McHugh
The event is "a natural extension" of the work of the Advertising Women of New York, a 1,300-member professional association founded in 1912, says Arlene Manos, that group's president. "It furthers our involvement in supporting women in the field," she says. Manos works in the Manhattan office of AMC.
Here's a look at three Long Islanders who'll be honored:
Nadine McHugh, 42, managing partner at the ad agency MindShare. About four years ago McHugh, mother of a 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, told her employer she wanted to stay home full-time with the kids. Her boss asked her to work part time from home because her key client, Unilever, was concerned about her departure.
A working mom's dream, right? Yes and no. McHugh, of Massapequa, says working from her dining room table made her world feel small. So after a year she told her boss she wanted to return full time.
"I came back with a vengeance," she says, and even got a promotion. McHugh says she found that "when you're a happier person, you're a happier parent." One thing that's eased her way: "My BlackBerry is my best friend."
She also says she's glad to have shown other women that there are options, even as she sees more acceptance of telecommuting by parents and nonparents alike.
Heather Roff, 41, assistant vice president for media, Maybelline New York-Garnier. Roff, mother of an 11-year-old son, is also grateful for her BlackBerry, which makes for a productive train commute to and from Manhattan.
She says that when her son was a newborn, she pushed herself to let colleagues know when she had to leave on time. That, Roff says, has made her more understanding of the needs of those who now work for her -- not just other parents but also those who need flexibility for any "life" reason.
To spend time with her son, Roff, of Deer Park, often gets up at 4 or 4:30 a.m., gets herself organized, then has an hour to spend with him before he heads off to school and she heads off to the train.
Wendy Lurrie, 46, chief strategy and marketing officer at the ad agency DraftFCB. Lurrie, mother of a son, 18, and daughter, 14, says while some parents strive to keep strict lines between work and home, she's found success "letting things overlap."
That means she asks for her kids' input on work projects, speaks at their schools and has taken them to the office, as well as on the occasional business trip. That way, her office wasn't seen as something "nameless and faceless" that was "taking mommy away."
Lurrie, a long-time resident of Lawrence who now lives in Forest Hills, also works one day a week from home.
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