OM DENNE EPISODE
I lost my job one month before giving birth.
It was 2022. I had just moved back to Singapore from the US with an 18-month-old and a second baby on the way. I still remember sitting in a half-furnished flat in the heat, eating instant noodles in my singlet with my hair in a messy bun, wondering who I was now that the job was gone.
My career had been such a big part of who I was. When it was ripped out, I felt lost at sea.
So I started talking to women who were a few steps ahead of me, one conversation at a time. Those conversations became Make It Work.
This time, I'm the one in the guest's chair. I joined Brandon Lee on Community At Work to talk about how Make It Work began, what our community of moms is really looking for, and where I think communities like ours are heading.
For the first time, I opened up about the actual pains of building this community. Like anything worth doing, it's taken a lot of late nights and tears. I'm thankful I got to share honestly about what keeps me up at night trying to keep this going.
What we get into:
🌊 Getting laid off one month before giving birth, and the "period of wilderness" that followed
🎙️ How a handful of honest conversations turned into a podcast heard in 40 countries
🤫 Our mystery question feature, and the "selfish" things we carry as moms but rarely say out loud
🇸🇬 Why the tension between career and motherhood looks so different in Singapore compared with my experience in the American South
🧩 Why moms join asking for a 4-day work week script, and why that's never where the conversation ends
🌙 The real cost of keeping a community going: editing videos at 9pm, hunting for venues, and one very dodgy yoga studio
🧠 Matrescence, and why your brain literally rewires after becoming a mom
🤝 What institutions can do to back grassroots communities, including showing alternatives like job sharing
🤖 Our AI Moms Party, and why human connection matters even more in the age of AI
🪜 Why seeing your career as seasons will serve you better than seeing it as a ladder
If you've ever wondered whether the thing you're building on late nights and very little sleep is worth it, this one is for you.
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CONNECT WITH COMMUNITY AT WORK
👋 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033Od5jlHNcZl5P1L7nz9r?si=4cbf8151f55f4033
👋 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WorkinFutures
👋 Brandon Lee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonleetb/
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:10 Who Am I Without My Career?
01:39 Laid Off One Month Before Giving Birth
04:28 How a Few Honest Conversations Became Make It Work
05:53 The Selfish Things Moms Never Say Out Loud
07:19 Why Can't You Just Go Back to Work?
08:44 It Was Never About the 4-Day Week
14:02 What Keeps Me Up at Night
21:04 Why We Need Each Other More in the Age of AI
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Watch more:
Millennial vs. Gen X Motherhood: A Conversation with My Mom | Ep 39 - https://youtu.be/a27TFPm7lIM
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Follow Make It Work! https://linktr.ee/makeitwork.podcast
📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/
🎵 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Make-It-Work/61566472637714/
🍏 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-it-work/id1701442085
🎵 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/78ulY0B27nYxGB6jPCABPI?si=abfc48d037d943be
📥 Email: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com
Join our free Mommas Making It Work WhatsApp community: https://bit.ly/MIWcommunity
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