Schwab believes in supporting families of every type, and this Father’s Day the company wants to recognize all the amazing dads out there. Schwab believes in giving fathers and all caregivers the support they need to prioritize their family responsibilities while balancing work.
Philip McCormick, a leader in the Internal Audit organization based out of Omaha, just celebrated the birth of his fourth child. We caught up with Philip to learn about how he’s been able to spend time bonding with his family through Schwab’s paid parental leave benefit.
Q. Congratulations on the birth of your daughter! Tell me about her.
Philip: Thank you! Her name is Maria Rose McCormick. She was born on Pi Day (3/14), so she’ll be having pie for at least a couple of her birthdays. Maria is our fourth baby, with three proud older siblings: Isaac (6), Madeline (4) and Liliana (2).
Q. I heard you recently came back from parental leave. How did it go?
Philip: It was really, really good. My wife and I have a system that we stick to. I take care of the older kids and she takes care of the newborn. I was able to bond with my older children, especially the 2-year-old. She told me, “Dad, you’re my best friend in the whole wide world.”
Getting six weeks of paid time off, I saw two or three times as much development for the baby before I returned to work. By the end of it, she had already slept through the night a couple times. We also had time to re-establish routines before I returned to work.
Q. Did you have any hesitancy about taking the time off?
Philip: I was not anxious or hesitant about using the full benefit at all. I had the full support of my leadership, peers, and team members. Huge credit goes to my team for filling in for me and picking up the slack. I absolutely could not have done it without them.
Q. What other resources have been beneficial to you as a father?
Philip: The Families at Schwab (FAMS) Employee Resource Group has been really helpful. There are guest speakers that have given me a lot of guidance, for all my kids, not just the baby. I’ve also previously taken advantage of the Bright Horizons daycare drop-ins (Back-Up Care) when our childcare fell through. And the workplace flexibility program design is really reassuring as we get closer to RTO, knowing that I have the flexibility to work from home if I must.
Thank you to all the dads and other caregivers supporting their families!
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