Parenting at Work

About Parenting at Work

Work and family aren’t two separate lives—they’re one reality. Welcome to Parenting at Work, the podcast exploring the human side of business. Join us for a warm conversation with leaders redefining employee support. Each episode offers stories and strategies for building workplaces that care. This is serious coverage with serious heart. This podcast is brought to you by Juno, the modern safety net for working families. Learn more at junokids.com

Publisher

Juno

Category

kids & family

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Nov 2025

Latest episode

21 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

11 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   21 Jul 2026

   Work life integration is the new competitive advantage

   Summary In this episode of Parenting at Work, host Lindsey Topping-Schuetz talks with Ken Wechsler, VP of Global Total Rewards at Akamai Technologies, about what companies actually owe the families behind their workforce. Drawing on nearly 30 years designing compensation and benefits inside companies, as a consultant, and as a longtime World at Work faculty member, Ken explains why he has traded "work-life balance" for work-life integration, how he makes the business case for family benefits when finance pushes back, and why a benefit only one percent of employees use can still be one of the most valuable things a company offers. He also shares the deeply personal story that reshaped how he sees his work. This conversation is for HR and total rewards leaders, people managers, and any working parent who wants to understand how thoughtful benefits get built and championed. Chapters 00:00 Welcome and introductions 02:45 Work life integration as a competitive advantage 04:45 Winning the budget conversation with finance 05:45 Why the benefits few people use still matter 07:45 The real gap in mental health support 10:45 The IVF story and what benefits really mean 12:45 Embryo freezing, adoption, and listening to employees 19:45 Rewriting the bereavement policy 21:45 Where AI fits in total rewards 23:45 One no budget idea and final wisdom Takeaways Design for work-life integration, not balance. Families fold work and home into the same day, and companies that make room for that win on retention and recruiting. Family support has shifted from something HR fights for to a core competitive advantage, accelerated by the move to distributed work. The argument that moves finance is retention and employer brand. A benefit only one percent of people use is still worth it, because it shows everyone what kind of company they work for. Benefits are personal. Behind every program is someone building a family or facing a hard moment, so the work is human before it is administrative. Lead one person at a time. A single interaction and one act of help is how HR leaves a lasting, positive imprint. Connect with the Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-wechsler-sphr-ccp-a452734/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-wechsler-sphr-ccp-a452734/) Website: https://www.akamai.com (https://www.akamai.com) Sponsor Juno is the modern financial safety net for working families, helping organizations offer affordable, long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a new, severe illness or disability. Learn more at https://www.junokids.com/ (https://www.junokids.com/)

2. 

   14 Jul 2026

   There Are No Unimportant Jobs

   Summary In this episode of Parenting at Work, host Lindsey sits down with Maggie Ruvoldt, a chief human resources officer with more than three decades in HR, most recently leading people at Learn Behavioral, a national network of ABA therapy providers serving children with autism. Maggie leads a frontline workforce of behavioral technicians and clinicians who can't work from a laptop, and she brings a refreshingly honest view of what it means to support working parents and caregivers when the usual flexibility playbook doesn't apply. The conversation moves from the difference between hearing and listening, to a vulnerable beach-day story that reshaped her leadership, to her conviction that there are no unimportant jobs. It's a thoughtful listen for HR leaders, people managers, and any working parent balancing the pull of everywhere they're supposed to be. Chapters 00:45 Welcome and Maggie's three decades in HR 02:05 Hearing versus listening as a leader's biggest tool 04:35 No unimportant jobs and the trouble with "non-essential" 06:15 Flexibility when your workforce can't work from home 08:45 The benefit nobody used and why assumptions fail 12:30 Caregivers, not just parents, and the pull of everywhere 14:30 The beach, the Ziploc bag, and "I really hate that thing" 17:30 Modeling balance and scheduling the Sunday emails 19:30 Mentoring Mondays, Eve Was Framed, and benefits across the life cycle 24:30 A small moment of courage for HR leaders Takeaways Listening is a leader's most powerful tool, and it is different from simply hearing someone wait for their turn to talk. There are no unimportant jobs, and every role deserves to feel valued for the time it takes away from family and personal life. When a workforce can't flex on location, get creative on time, mental health support, and financial wellness instead. Don't assume you know what working parents need, ask directly, watch what people actually use, and spend each benefits dollar transparently. Model the balance you preach, because permission you don't live by, like logging off on vacation, isn't real permission at all. Connect with the Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaretruvoldt/ Website: https://learnbehavioral.com/ Sponsor Juno is the modern financial safety net for working families, helping organizations offer affordable, long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a new, severe illness or disability. Learn more at https://www.junokids.com/ (https://www.junokids.com/)

3. 

   19 May 2026

   Building Benefits That Actually Work for Your Workforce

   Summary Most organizations diagnose low benefits adoption as a communication failure. Amrita Bhaumik, VP of HR at Team Car Care — one of the largest Jiffy Lube franchisees, operating over 450 stores — has a harder diagnosis: the programs were never designed for the people being asked to use them. One-size-fits-all benefits are a budget choice. The workforce paying for that choice is the one that doesn't work at a desk. Before Team Car Care, Amrita served as CHRO at Valvoline Global Operations, where she drove a uniform parental leave policy across nearly 30 countries regardless of local legal minimums. In this conversation with host Lindsey Topping-Schuetz, she shares the data-driven strategy she used to move executives, the "meeting before the meeting" tactic that earns leadership ownership before the formal room, and the single question that has shaped her approach to culture for two decades. Timestamps 00:00 Amrita's path from Valvoline CHRO to VP of HR at Team Car Care 01:00 People leadership philosophy: enabling growth through culture and environment 04:00 Year-one priority: building strong leaders at 450 Jiffy Lube stores 05:30 The frontline benefits problem: reactive workers and programs that don't fit 07:00 How benefits and caregiving have changed across the automotive industry 09:00 Lindsey's personal story: seven years out of the workforce and what she needed to return 12:00 The birthday rule, mom guilt, and co-opting her daughter into work decisions 17:00 Building a uniform parental leave policy across 30 countries at Valvoline 21:00 Culture is built on the hardest day, not the best one Takeaways If frontline workers aren't using your benefits, the problem is design, not awareness. Build programs for the life stage and schedule of the employees you actually employ. Equip frontline managers first. They are the most direct channel between a benefits program and the employee who needs it — coach them to have the conversation before the portal ever opens. Use internal data, not benchmarks, to move executives. Performance data, diversity percentages, and attrition patterns make the case more durably than external studies. Work the room before the meeting. Surface individual leadership concerns individually so the group decision gets owned, not just agreed to. Culture is tested on the hardest day. Benefits that don't show up when someone needs them most are expensive promises — not a culture. Connect with the Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amrita-bhaumik-hr/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amrita-bhaumik-hr/) Team Car Care: https://www.jiffylube.com/ (https://www.jiffylube.com/) Sponsor Juno is the modern financial safety net for working families, helping organizations offer affordable, long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a new, severe illness or disability. Learn more at https://www.junokids.com/ (https://www.junokids.com/)

4. 

   11 May 2026

   What My Students Taught Me About Leadership

   Summary When Crunch Fitness's head of people and culture returned from parental leave in 2007, the CEO gave her a choice: delegate most of her role or come back early. She came back—but on her terms. Two days in the office. Three at home. And she never went back to five. That decision, made during the 2008 financial crisis while bonding with her newly adopted daughter, became the foundation of her leadership philosophy: flexibility isn't a perk. It's infrastructure. In this conversation, Pamela J. Brown walks through how she applies "ruthless prioritization" to protect both her team's capacity and her own, why she tells direct reports their projects are "yellow-light priorities" instead of letting them chase dead ends, and what it actually looks like to lead with empathy across 400+ locations where remote work isn't an option. She also shares the moment she saw something off in a colleague's face at a conference—and told her to leave before her talk, no questions asked. Timestamps 03:17 Ruthless prioritization: protecting your top three at work and at home 05:08 Why "yes, and" beats "no" when managing requests from your team 08:39 Applying Crunch's "no judgments" mantra to parents at work 11:11 The CEO call during parental leave: coming back early with conditions 14:47 Practicing daycare drop-off for two weeks before returning to work 17:09 What flexibility looks like when remote work isn't possible 19:31 The difference between leading as a professor and leading as an executive 22:04 Relax and recovery: what fitness taught her about unplugging from work 25:10 Where to find Pamela and her newsletter Multiplying Moves Takeaways - Flexibility must be embedded in company infrastructure, not treated as an exception or perk—especially for parents managing emergencies, illness, or caregiving logistics. - "Yes, and" is more effective than "no"—acknowledge the request, explain the priority level, and set a date when you can revisit it so your team can succeed without frustration. - Ruthless prioritization requires keeping your top three business goals visible, time-blocking work toward them, and moving everything else out of the way—at work and at home. - Empathy scales when leaders lean into listening, give developmental time even during packed schedules, and trust their instincts when something is visibly wrong with a team member. Connect with the Guest Connect with Pamela J. Brown on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelabr/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelabr/) Learn more about Crunch Fitness: https://www.crunch.com/ (https://www.crunch.com/) Sponsor Juno is the modern financial safety net for working families, helping organizations offer affordable, long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a new, severe illness or disability. Learn more at https://www.junokids.com/

5. 

   4 May 2026

   How to Reimagine the Childcare Gap in the U.S.

   Summary Every year, more than 150,000 early childhood educators leave the profession—a churn rate that directly impacts the 11 million children who depend on stable, high-quality care. Jessica Harrah has spent 20 years at KinderCare, the last decade as Chief People Officer, building systems that treat childcare not as a perk but as baseline infrastructure. Her defining moment came at an anniversary dinner when her husband said, "I need you to have some of that energy at home"—a gut punch that forced her to redesign what work-life integration actually meant. KinderCare now surveys 40,000 teachers annually, offers four-day workweeks to classroom staff, and provides free mental health care to employees' entire families. Harrah's argument is clinical: companies that don't offer childcare benefits are no longer employers of choice. The workforce of 2025 expects to be seen as whole people, and benefits are the language employers use to say, "We see what matters to you outside these four walls." Timestamps 03:14 Jessica's 20 years at KinderCare and why the mission stuck 06:47 The anniversary dinner that changed her approach to presence 11:23 Why childcare must shift from perk to infrastructure 15:02 What holds companies back from offering childcare benefits 18:56 How Ben stayed silent during Owen's NICU stay—and what that teaches HR leaders 23:41 Work-life integration for 40,000 teachers who can't leave the classroom 28:19 Post-COVID pressure: should moms keep toddlers home during remote work? 32:05 One question every HR leader should ask employees right now Takeaways Companies that view childcare as infrastructure—not a perk—see measurable gains in retention, productivity, and employee engagement, just as they do with healthcare benefits. Leaders create psychological safety not through open-door policies but through specific, recurring questions: "What do you need from me this week?" Work-life integration is highly personal—a four-day workweek for classroom teachers serves the same function as mid-day Costco runs for office workers. Offering benefits to an employee's entire family (not just the employee) sends a structural message: we welcome you as a whole person. The next generation of workers expects employers to acknowledge their full lives; benefits packages are now the primary language of that acknowledgment. Connect with the guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-harrah-5864866a/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-harrah-5864866a/) Learn more about KinderCare: https://www.kindercare.com/ (https://www.kindercare.com/) Learn more about Juno Juno is the modern financial safety net for working families, helping employers offer affordable, long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a new, severe illness or disability. Learn more at https://www.junokids.com/ (https://www.junokids.com/)

6. 

   19 Jan 2026

   Candice Chafey, Chief People Officer at Zeta Global

   Leading with Empathy: Zeta Global’s First CPO on Feedback, Flexibility, and Parenting Summary What does it take to build a high-performance people function from scratch while raising a family? Candice Chafey, the first-ever Chief People Officer at Zeta Global—and former CPO at Bridgewater Associates and Lehman Brothers—joins Parenting at Work to share how she designs culture and benefits with empathy and rigor. A founding member of Troop HR, Candice explains why leaders shouldn’t just lift a “playbook” from past roles, how to treat culture like a campaign that amplifies what’s already true, and why transparent feedback matters even more in hybrid environments. She traces the shift from onsite perks to whole-self, stage-of-life benefits (from student loans to fertility and adoption), and makes the case for flexibility plus genuine human support when life gets hard. Candice also gets personal—discussing postpartum depression, a childcare crisis, and the often-overlooked transition back to work—and offers practical ways leaders can stay grounded, ask better questions, and support parents without assumptions. Timestamps [00:45] – Candice’s path: first-ever CPO roles, blank canvases, and resisting one-size-fits-all playbooks [03:29] – From “good people” to Great Place to Work: connection, pride, and treating culture like a campaign [05:02] – Lessons from Bridgewater: radical transparency vs. kindness—and making feedback safe in hybrid [07:54] – Imposter syndrome 101: why asking clear questions breaks the mental loop [09:20] – The benefits shift: from onsite services to virtual care and whole-self, life-stage support [13:42] – What parents want now: flexibility—and real human care in moments of crisis [16:34] – Life balance over work-life balance: planning, partnership, and staying sane with four kids [20:10] – Parenting x leadership: coaching with questions, empathy, and perspective [24:20] – When worlds collide: postpartum, a nanny scare, and the missing return-to-work playbook [31:30] – Grounded leadership: remember your “firsts,” use your story, and build better for others [33:27] – Parting wisdom: “You’re all they know”—the power of presence at home and at work Takeaways - Lead by listening—don’t import a past playbook; build infrastructure that fits your company’s people and mission. - Treat culture like a campaign: clarify what’s true, amplify it, and earn third-party validation thoughtfully. - Normalize truth and feedback in hybrid: train managers to ask clear questions and reduce imposter syndrome. - Design benefits for life stages: virtual care, student loan support, fertility/adoption resources, and mental health. - Prioritize flexibility plus human support—plan proactively, but respond compassionately when crises happen. - Create a return-to-work playbook: transitions, manager readiness, and personalized support for new parents. - Coach like a parent: use questions to build judgment, offer perspective, and help people find their own answers. Sponsor Parenting at Work is brought to you by Juno — the modern financial safety net for working families. Juno helps employers offer affordable, impactful long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a severe illness or disability, giving parents peace of mind and flexibility when it matters most. You can learn more about how Juno is helping companies build family-first benefits that truly make a difference at ⁠⁠junokids.com⁠⁠.

7. 

   12 Jan 2026

   Monica Anderton, CHRO at DS Smith

   Parenting Meets Production: A CHRO’s Playbook for Parental Leave, Safety, and Frontline FlexibilitySummaryHow do you offer flexibility when your business runs on shifts and machines can’t sit idle? Monica Anderton, Chief Human Resources Officer for DS Smith’s North American Packaging & Paper Division and a 2025 Top CHRO Voice in Manufacturing, breaks down what family-friendly HR looks like on the factory floor. With 20+ facilities and 2,500 employees, Monica serves two distinct audiences—desk-based staff and frontline teams—while staying competitive as a self-insured employer. She shares how DS Smith used benchmarks and employee surveys to design choice-rich benefits, why “unlimited PTO” doesn’t fit manufacturing, and how they rolled out inclusive two-week parental leave for all parents, including adoption and same-sex partners. Monica explains how to balance data with “the right thing,” from rapid, paid COVID leave to safety-first policies that depend on transparency when life happens at home. She also opens up about parenting while leading through travel and crises, and the community and workplace support that mattered most when her daughter suffered a catastrophic sports injury. Expect tangible examples for building trust, protecting safety, and attracting the next generation with practical, family-forward benefits.Timestamps[00:45] – Guest intro: DS Smith scope and what’s unique about manufacturing HR[01:37] – Serving desk and frontline teams: self-insured benefits, benchmarks, and surveys[03:53] – Time off on the line: why “unlimited PTO” doesn’t work in shift environments[05:13] – Inclusive parental leave: two weeks for all parents, including adoption and same-sex partners[07:58] – Data + values: making “the right thing” sustainable and competitive[09:13] – Safety in a crisis: immediate paid COVID leave and union dynamics[16:12] – When life happens: transparency, leave options, and preventing safety risks from distraction[18:52] – A parent-first moment: catastrophic injury, community support, and a scholarship preservedTakeaways- Build benefits as a choice-rich platform validated by market benchmarks and employee surveys.- Define flexibility by role: staff shifts reliably while offering fair time off and realistic policies for non-desk work.- Implement inclusive parental leave—small steps (e.g., two weeks) drive morale, attraction, and retention.- Price decisions with data but anchor in values; act decisively in crises to protect people and operations.- Ask for transparency during family emergencies; activate leaves, PTO donation, EAP, and care-finder resources to reduce safety risks.- Model empathy—normalize “it’s okay to not be okay” and equip managers to meet people where they are.SponsorParenting at Work is brought to you by Juno — the modern financial safety net for working families. Juno helps employers offer affordable, impactful long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a severe illness or disability, giving parents peace of mind and flexibility when it matters most. You can learn more about how Juno is helping companies build family-first benefits that truly make a difference at ⁠⁠junokids.com⁠⁠.

8. 

   5 Jan 2026

   Laura Harmon, Chief People Officer at One Workplace

   People Before Policy: CPO Laura Harmon on Flexible Work, Caregiver Leave, and ERG-Led BenefitsSummaryWhat happens when your policies promise flexibility but your managers don’t allow it? Laura Harmon, Chief People Officer at One Workplace and longtime HR leader at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Allstate, and Signet Health, explains how to close the gap between policy and lived experience. Shaped by her own journey as a parent, Laura’s North Star is simple: align what you do with what you allow. She shares a candid story of a manager blocking a flexible return from leave—and how coaching for equity protects retention—and a defining moment from her own first day back that underscores the power of managerial grace. Laura breaks down how to design benefits that scale beyond parents—reframing parental leave as caregiver leave, setting core hours, and investing in mental and financial wellness. She also shows how ERGs can co-create real solutions, like piloting a childcare stipend during the return-to-office crunch. Expect practical guidance on setting guardrails without “managing to the exception,” building cultures that support belonging, and what’s next: making flexibility a cultural norm and carving time for wellness and self-paced learning into the workweek.Timestamps[00:45] – Meet Laura Harmon and “people before policy”[02:15] – Parenting as a leadership North Star: align what you do with what you allow[03:47] – When a manager blocks flexibility: equity, retention, and coaching[05:35] – RTO mandates, equity, and setting guardrails without managing to the exception[09:32] – Designing inclusive benefits: caregiver leave, core hours, mental/financial wellness[13:31] – A defining return-from-leave moment and the power of managerial grace[16:33] – ERGs co-create solutions: piloting a childcare stipend and removing barriers[19:50] – The next 5–10 years: making flexibility a cultural norm and embedding wellnessTakeaways- Reframe “parental leave” as caregiver support to include aging parents and other family needs.- Codify flexibility with clear core hours and role expectations; judge outcomes, not location.- Coach managers not to manage to the exception; address outliers individually, not with blanket rules.- Use ERGs to surface real barriers and co-design solutions (e.g., childcare stipends).- Equip managers to respond with empathy during life transitions—it’s culture in action.- Carve calendar time for wellness and learning; offer self-paced options and stipends to meet people where they are.SponsorParenting at Work is brought to you by Juno — the modern financial safety net for working families. Juno helps employers offer affordable, impactful long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a severe illness or disability, giving parents peace of mind and flexibility when it matters most. You can learn more about how Juno is helping companies build family-first benefits that truly make a difference at ⁠⁠junokids.com⁠⁠.

9. 

   22 Dec 2025

   Lisseth Zouhbi, CHRO at Child Care Resource Center

   From Five-Star Hotels to Childcare Nonprofit: Authentic HR and Real-World BenefitsSummaryWhat happens when a luxury hospitality veteran applies a five-star service mindset to a mission-driven workforce? Lisseth Zouhbi, Chief Human Resources Officer at the Child Care Resource Center in California, shares how she translates decades in brands like Rosewood, Langham, and Fairmont into an employee experience that truly supports working parents and frontline providers. Lisseth explains her “experience lens” for HR—designing for both employees and the families they serve—and how research, clear communication, and agility help her team meet real childcare needs around cost, access, and misaligned schedules. She unpacks her pivot from hotels to nonprofit during COVID, CCRC’s rapid growth, and her transformational leadership style grounded in psychological safety, individualized development, and the belief that “life happens.” Expect practical insights on building benefits that match real life, enabling authenticity at work, and creating cultures where caregivers can thrive without fear.Timestamps[00:45] – From five-star hospitality to mission-driven HR: why Lisseth made the pivot[01:51] – The “experience lens”: designing for employees and the families they serve[03:45] – Career shift during COVID and scaling CCRC through rapid growth[04:56] – Dual-career parenting, support systems, and managing the juggle[07:17] – Authenticity at work: what to share and why it builds trust[08:55] – The childcare gap: cost, access, and misaligned hours with work[16:19] – Transformational leadership: individualized development, agility, and “life happens”[20:51] – Creating psychologically safe cultures so caregivers can ask for helpTakeaways- Design benefits and schedules around real childcare realities—cost, access, and hours—not assumptions.- Build communication norms that reduce fear of retaliation and invite early, candid conversations.- Individualize development plans; learn each employee’s goals, values, and boundaries.- Normalize flexibility for caregivers—focus on outcomes and allow life to happen without penalty.- Use research and community feedback to evolve programs as family needs change.- Model authenticity as a leader to strengthen trust and improve team resilience.SponsorParenting at Work is brought to you by Juno — the modern financial safety net for working families. Juno helps employers offer affordable, impactful long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a severe illness or disability, giving parents peace of mind and flexibility when it matters most. You can learn more about how Juno is helping companies build family-first benefits that truly make a difference at ⁠⁠junokids.com⁠⁠.

10. 

    20 Nov 2025

    Structure as Care: Certara’s VP of Total Rewards on Designing Benefits for Working Parents

    SummaryWhat if the real job of benefits is to remove stress—and create relief—when life happens? Serena Filson, Vice President of Global Total Rewards and HR Operations at Certara, shares how she architects compensation, benefits, wellness, and HR tech to be both fair and deeply human. With 25+ years in HR, including taking Certara public in 2020 and leading M&A integrations, Serena explains why structure is an expression of empathy: it enables equity, signals culture, and helps people navigate hard moments with confidence. She opens up about her own parenting journey—from stepping out of corporate to consulting, to a pivotal missed-Halloween moment stuck overseas—and how modeling flexibility out loud changed how her team shows up. Expect concrete strategies: upgrading parental leave in the U.S., adding global EAP with childcare concierge, treating “supplemental” benefits as standard, and evaluating programs market-by-market through real parent scenarios. Serena closes with a practical challenge to leaders: build your “kitchen table” of diverse voices and design systems that truly care.Timestamps[00:45] – Guest intro: Serena’s remit at Certara and the architecture of HR[02:52] – Designing for relief: structure as equity, process, and culture[06:25] – Global lens: supporting employees through disasters and rapid change[08:13] – Serena’s parenting journey and identity as a working mom[11:08] – The missed-Halloween moment in China—and why openness matters[13:02] – Modeling flexibility out loud to normalize being human at work[14:33] – Upgrading benefits: parental leave, EAP concierge, and “supplemental” as standard[27:49] – One piece of advice: build a diverse “kitchen table” for benefit designTakeaways- Design for worst-case moments to reduce stress—structure is empathy in action.- Treat supplemental benefits (legal, pet, critical illness/accident) as standard to compete for talent.- Elevate parental support: strengthen leave where state protections lag and add global EAP with childcare concierge.- Evaluate benefits locally and annually for major markets; map scenarios for birth, adoption, and different caregiver paths.- Model transparency: state needs (“I’m at a PT appointment”) and pair with clear commitments to outcomes.- Build a diverse internal sounding board so programs reflect real lives—not assumptions.SponsorParenting at Work is brought to you by Juno — the modern financial safety net for working families. Juno helps employers offer affordable, impactful long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a severe illness or disability, giving parents peace of mind and flexibility when it matters most. You can learn more about how Juno is helping companies build family-first benefits that truly make a difference at ⁠junokids.com⁠.

11. 

    7 Nov 2025

    Parenting-Powered Leadership: Dawn Foods’ CPO on Listening, Neurodiversity, and Frontline Flexibility

    SummaryWhat does people-first leadership look like when most of your workforce can’t work from a laptop? Jason N. Lioy, Chief People Officer at Dawn Foods and member of the Forbes Human Resources Council, leads 3,500 team members across plants, distribution centers, and offices worldwide. He shares how parenting—especially raising a son with special needs—shapes his “lead with heart and ears” philosophy and turns belonging into daily practice. Jason blends empathy with data discipline, from setting personal non-negotiables (like school drop-off) to building role-based flexibility for frontline teams. He details how Dawn achieves 80%+ participation in engagement surveys globally by making them accessible to non-desk workers and acting publicly on the results. He also unpacks how leaders can normalize vulnerability, apply the “oxygen mask” rule, and use listening—not policies—as the foundation for trust. Expect stories, playbooks, and practical steps any people leader can use to better support working parents and build a culture where everyone belongs.Timestamps[00:40] – Guest intro: Jason’s path to CPO at Dawn Foods and Parenting at Work’s mission[02:55] – Non-negotiable: leading with heart so people know you care[04:45] – A mentor’s legacy: why one CHRO changed Jason’s leadership forever[07:35] – Parenting’s imprint: special needs, empathy, and adaptable leadership[12:10] – Belonging in practice: schedule non-negotiables, neurodiversity, and modeling openness[20:40] – Making vulnerability normal: the “oxygen mask” rule and post-COVID connection[27:45] – Frontline flexibility: equitable policies, listening first, and positive team member relations[32:40] – From heart to head: biannual surveys, pulses, 80% participation, and acting on dataTakeaways- Model vulnerability: share appropriate personal context and open meetings with quick personal check-ins.- Define role-based flexibility: set clear non-negotiables and find practical give-and-take for frontline schedules.- Train leaders to “lead with heart and ears”: treat listening and empathy as core operating skills.- Measure what matters: run biannual engagement surveys with targeted pulses; ensure access for non-desk workers and compensate for time.- Act on feedback: use comments, skip-levels, and local action plans to close the loop and build trust.- Live neuroinclusive values: support and hire neurodiverse talent, pair high expectations with the right accommodations.Parenting at Work is brought to you by Juno — the modern financial safety net for working families. Juno helps employers offer affordable, impactful long-term financial coverage for children diagnosed with a severe illness or disability, giving parents peace of mind and flexibility when it matters most. You can learn more about how Juno is helping companies build family-first benefits that truly make a difference at junokids.com.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Contact Parenting at Work

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.