L’Oréal and STJ Come Together for Parents’ Day

At the beginning of August, Spread the Jelly gathered at L’Oréal Groupe’s New York Headquarters for Parents’ Day—a lively yet informative celebration of all things motherhood, fatherhood, and work. We deemed it our first ever corporate Jellymoon for L’Oréal employees—a brief hiatus from real life, where we can take the time to connect with others and ourselves, and reflect on important conversations that impact us all. 

There was a panel discussion featuring STJ’s founders, Lauren Levinger and Amrit Tietz, in conversation with L’Oréal USA’s Chief Human Resources Officer Stephanie Kramer and Sr. Manager of Global Campaigns & Content at Biolage, Taireek Simms, discussing the intersection of parenthood, career, and identity.  The panel and the audience writ large marveled at the fact that we call working moms, “working moms,” but no one has ever called a professional dad, a “working father.” 

Stephanie not only runs HR at L’Oréal but she also wrote the book Carry Strong: An Empowered Approach to Navigating Pregnancy and Work, so she had a lot to say on subjects so meaningful to our community: Can balance exist? What does true corporate support for parents look like? 

“For me, what's been really important is asking: What experience did I want to have? What experience did I want to have for my teammates as a people manager going forward?,” Stephanie said. “How do I want our entire organization, regardless if they become parents or not, to show up for each other?

Everyone noshed on cured meats and soft cheese and sipped aptly-named cocktails: Mom-osa, Papa-Rita, and the Family Fizz. L’Oréal employees across all their brands gathered at HQ. Outside of the company, guests were both eclectic and enthusiastic; they included: Creative Production Lead at Meta Lauren Youngblood; Interior Designer Merie Subryan; New York Times photo editor, Jolie Ruben; creator Drita Beqirii; and PR whiz Florencia Cavallo. STJ friends like consultant Anja Tyson, model Maria Papathanasiou, and designer Julian Paik were on hand too, sharing laughs and wisdom. 

We set up a Sticky Board with the prompt being: What’s Something You’ve Learned About Yourself Recently? One person wrote, “I learned that I actually like alone time.” Amen. Another person said, “That I’m the one who has to ween off of co-sleeping,” which we deeply felt. We also set up our Getting Sticky card game up at tables. 

Everyone took home a gift bag that was replete with goodies for parents and kids alike, including fan-favorite La Roche-Posay (the cult French beauty line under the L’Oréal umbrella) sunscreen, Maven-branded crayons, and of course, our STJ card game. 

We left this Jellymoon feeling inspired by the L’Oréal and STJ community, momentarily refreshed, and looking so forward to the next one. In the meantime, we were lucky enough to glean some parenting wisdom from some members of the L’Oréal community:

Getting Sticky With L’Oréal

Emanuella Louis, PR Manager, La Roche-Posay and mom of two daughters: Emily (13) and Perrine (9)\

What’s a daily parenting hack or a mantra you live by?

Having balance doesn't mean having perfect harmony between my personal and professional life on a daily basis. Instead, it means being able to show up as my full self for the moments that matter. Some days that means traveling and leaving my family behind; other days, it means staying up late to make personalized DIY Valentine's Day gift bags for my girls' classmates and once in a while, it means preparing a home-cooked classic Haitian meal for my husband. Showing up in all these ways with excellence makes me feel immensely blessed and fulfilled. That equals balance to me.

How has L'Oréal's work culture helped you navigate parenthood without feeling like you had to choose between being a present parent and advancing your career?

Our flexible three day in office policy has completely changed my life as a parent. There is no greater feeling than being home when the school bus pulls up to our house at 3:45 PM so I can greet my kids; even if it's a one armed, silently excited hug while I still have my laptop in the other hand.

Certain parenting superpowers like empathy and multitasking are also workplace strengths. Can you share more about how parenthood can support career momentum?

The skills I’ve honed as a parent and leverage most at work are the ability to pivot and remain calm under pressure. In PR, you never know when things will go sideways, requiring an instant pivot and an alternate solution. While you handle the situation in the background, staying calm is critical to show everything is under control. It’s much like parenting: you never know when an unexpected situation will arise with your kids (like a minor scrape or sudden fever), and you have to quickly assess the situation, stay level headed, and navigate the solution.

What are things you rely on to be able to function as a working parent? (For example, your village, childcare,  mental health support, social life, exercise.)

I could not do what I do without my husband's support. While I am fortunate to have a very strong village of extended family, his constant presence and active participation, especially during my frequent business travel absences, make it truly possible for me to balance it all.

Tanya Anokhina, Global Senior Designer at SkinCeuticals and mom to one daughter Nicole (Nika) who’s 10 months old. 

What’s a daily parenting hack or a mantra you live by?

So I’m still pretty new to this whole parenting thing! But honestly, “good enough is good enough.” I’m learning that not everything has to go exactly according to plan. Sometimes getting everyone out the door is the win.

How has L'Oréal's work culture helped you navigate parenthood without feeling like you had to choose between being a present parent and advancing your career?

Coming back to work reminded me that I’m still me outside of being a mom. I love being a mother, but I also really value having a creative life, a career, and something that feels like my own. Having flexibility and people around me who understand that both things can matter has made that transition much easier.

Certain parenting superpowers like empathy and multitasking are also workplace strengths. Can you share more about how parenthood can support career momentum?

I think becoming a parent made me much better at figuring out what actually matters. You become very good at prioritizing because there are suddenly never enough hours in the day! I also think I’m more patient and empathetic now. And I definitely don’t overthink the little things as much as I used to.

What are things you rely on to be able to function as a working parent? (For example, your village, childcare,  mental health support, social life, exercise.)

Daycare is a huge one. My husband and I really work as a team and having that support makes everything possible. And then there are the little things that keep me feeling like myself like exercising, seeing friends, getting outside, having a coffee while it’s still hot… when that miracle happens.

Nicol Sobczyk Costello, VP Circular Economy, Sustainability and mom to an almost 5-year-old girl, Harriet aka Harry, and a 3-year-old boy, Henryk with a third baby on the way, due mid-September. 

What’s a daily parenting hack or a mantra you live by?

I've learned there is no hack that works for every kid or every parent. I think what I've learned most is: trust your gut, don't compare your kid to other kids, and know that sometimes the first thing you and your kid might need to make everything better is just an old-fashioned hand hold or hug. When everyone's freakin' out, when in doubt, ask your kid (and yourself) ...are you: Hungry? Angry? Lonely? Tired? Sometimes a rough morning for everyone can turn around with an emergency pre-breakfast banana.

How has L'Oréal's work culture helped you navigate parenthood without feeling like you had to choose between being a present parent and advancing your career?

Our internal culture at L'Oreal has been a massive game-changer in how we define productivity, and has been so helpful to establish a common "baseline" for boundary-setting. Knowing the company not only encourages employees to stick to certain boundaries, but even give us license to hold one another accountable to those boundaries, makes it easier to shut my laptop at the end of the day and know that no one is expecting me to be burning the midnight oil as proof of performance or loyalty to my team.

Certain parenting superpowers like empathy and multitasking are also workplace strengths. Can you share more about how parenthood can support career momentum?

Parenthood has forced me to adjust my own expectations for success, and for how I can be a "good" employee and peer. For example: so long as I want to be a present and active parent in my kids' lives every day, it's impossible to expect that my house is clean, laundry is folded, and I'm making time for exercise. Same goes for my work success mindset: I cannot expect to end my day with a 0 unread email inbox, while also delivering on goals or business-critical projects. What has been especially important is protecting time in my day according to what I see fit.  A friend of mine once said, "You are not pizza. You cannot make everyone happy." Once I accepted that, I was able to adapt my own expectations for myself and people around me who used to know and work with "a different Nicol" pre-kids.

What are things you rely on to be able to function as a working parent? (For example, your village, childcare,  mental health support, social life, exercise.)

My dog (a boxer) is such an important part of my life. My therapy and serotonin stabilizer, my running buddy, my reminder to take pause for a hello.  Caring for him properly means I am forced to spend time outside on a walk, even on days when I'm running on E. I'm a big believer that fresh air can turn around moods and can even reframe thinking from crisis/panic to de-escalation/stability. Above all, when I'm feeling like I'm under-delivering as a parent, wife, and employee all at once, I remember that my dog at home can't wait to hang out.