Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to the Wellness Hour on CNA 938.
Speaker 1: You're with me, Cheryl Goh. Now working mothers balance their
Speaker 1: demanding careers, family responsibilities and personal well-being almost like a superpower.
Speaker 1: Throw in a leadership role at work and well, yes,
Speaker 1: that balance can get overwhelming at times. Well, our guest,
Speaker 1: Shreta Bardwaj knows this really
Speaker 1: Too well, but instead of letting it get to the
Speaker 1: uh get the best of her, she has intertwined them
Speaker 1: where being a mother, reshaped her perspective on leadership and
Speaker 1: purpose and right here on CNN 938 in the lead
Speaker 1: up to International Women's Day this week, we spotlight the
Speaker 1: everyday woman.
Speaker 1: And how she thrives in what she does. So here
Speaker 1: to share more with us is Shweta Bhawaj, head of
Speaker 1: sustainability Services at Tata Consultancy Services APAC and ANZ. uh Shweta,
Speaker 1: it's really nice to have you.
Speaker 1: On the show, and we understand, congratulations, you became a
Speaker 1: mummy again with your second child last year. After maternity,
Speaker 1: you returned to your leadership role at work. So what
Speaker 1: was it like coming back from maternity leave?
Speaker 2: Hi, Sharon, uh, it's a pleasure speaking with you. Thanks
Speaker 2: for having me. Um, when returning to work has been
Speaker 2: a big transition. It's actually one of the biggest, uh,
Speaker 2: I would say, both professionally and personally.
Speaker 2: Um, I now am a mother to two little ones.
Speaker 2: I have, uh, an elder daughter who's 3, and I
Speaker 2: have a younger one who's, who was born last year,
Speaker 2: just about 8 months. And so, um, you know, if I, uh,
Speaker 2: coming back has been challenging, but I would say that, um,
Speaker 2: what I've tried doing is, uh, you know, just setting
Speaker 2: some boundaries and, and, and scheduling my time well. So
Speaker 2: if I look at my mornings, for example,
Speaker 2: Um, they're, they're both the most demanding and the most
Speaker 2: rewarding part of my day. Um, I make it a point, uh,
Speaker 2: to spend quality time with my kids in the morning.
Speaker 2: So whether it's showering them, sitting together for breakfast, or
Speaker 2: enjoying some giggles before I head off to work. Uh, so,
Speaker 2: so that's, that's how, uh, uh, you know, I try
Speaker 2: obviously being present, and that's, that's the biggest lesson, uh,
Speaker 2: that I would say, uh, Cheryl, that I've learned.
Speaker 2: Uh, is that balance isn't, uh, about splitting time perfectly
Speaker 2: between your work and family. It's just about being fully
Speaker 2: present in whatever you are doing at that moment. So
Speaker 2: if I'm in a meeting, I'm giving it my best.
Speaker 2: If I'm with my children, I make sure that I
Speaker 2: switch off and I'm with them in that moment.
Speaker 2: And uh as I said, I also made conscious choices
Speaker 2: when returning to work. I planned out my schedule. For example,
Speaker 2: I block my evenings on my calendar, they blocked for
Speaker 2: bedtime with kids.
Speaker 2: Um, and then, uh, very importantly, I, uh, leaned on my,
Speaker 2: my family, my husband, and also my colleagues at work
Speaker 2: who were just incredibly understanding, uh, you know, during my
Speaker 2: transition back. And, uh, here I have to call out my,
Speaker 2: my parents who flew down from India to be with me,
Speaker 2: just knowing, just knowing that they're there, taking care of,
Speaker 2: of the baby while I'm away at work, we made
Speaker 2: it easier.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I love what you said about not striking
Speaker 1: that perfect balance but just being fully present at whatever
Speaker 1: you're doing at that point in time because that is
Speaker 1: really so in line with the focus of the wellness
Speaker 1: hours that mindfulness and that that presence uh in the moment.
Speaker 1: I love that sweater. um.
Speaker 1: So we know you, you took your maternity leave, which is,
Speaker 1: I would, I'm assuming it's the minimum of 4 months
Speaker 1: or it could have been even longer. What was it
Speaker 1: like returning to work after being away for such a
Speaker 1: long time?
Speaker 2: Um, so yes, it was, it was about 4 months, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, the last time, which is with the first one,
Speaker 2: I did kind of add in my annual leaves this
Speaker 2: time for the shorter one. And one of the things,
Speaker 2: as I said, uh, you tend to think, oh, I'm
Speaker 2: doing this the second time, I'm away from work. You know,
Speaker 2: there are both sets of emotions running. Uh, I want
Speaker 2: to get back to work, you're eager. What have I
Speaker 2: missed out? Am I still relevant? All, all those questions are,
Speaker 2: are there with you. And of course, that's
Speaker 2: The other side, the other part of you that does
Speaker 2: not want to leave, uh, you know, obviously a child behind.
Speaker 2: So you go in with, with those kind of thoughts and, uh, um,
Speaker 2: you know, I would say mom guilt is, is for real.
Speaker 2: And I think, uh, we probably as mothers we face
Speaker 2: it at some time.
Speaker 2: Uh, but I think, uh, uh, it's one of the
Speaker 2: challenges that I really faced in all of this, uh,
Speaker 2: I would say was also making time, uh, for myself. Um, and, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, I took on this role of head of
Speaker 2: sustainability services, uh, just a few months before, um, I,
Speaker 2: I got pregnant a second time.
Speaker 2: And when I returned to work, uh, my boss asked me, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, do you want to, uh, take on, uh,
Speaker 2: Australia and New Zealand as well as part of your
Speaker 2: overall market responsibility? And I thought to myself, am I
Speaker 2: ready for this? I have just so much going on, um,
Speaker 2: you know, so, am I ready for this? And, um,
Speaker 2: you know, sometimes in life I've been where I've not
Speaker 2: backed my instincts, but this time I said, let me
Speaker 2: just put my hand up and what can, what what
Speaker 2: can happen?
Speaker 2: Um, you know, so, uh, I, I, I went in
Speaker 2: for it, and, uh, what this meant and taking on
Speaker 2: this added responsibility, as I said, that balancing, balancing, uh,
Speaker 2: the demands of a leadership role, there's a newborn on
Speaker 2: top of that as a super energetic toddler. Uh, it
Speaker 2: can feel overwhelming at times and, uh, um, you know,
Speaker 2: making time for my
Speaker 2: Myself almost felt, I felt impossible. So it's something that
Speaker 2: I had to really deliberately work on. Um, and, and I,
Speaker 2: by structuring my, my day. Initially, you know, we're all,
Speaker 2: we want as, as, as, I think women, we just
Speaker 2: want to perfect everything. We want to do it all
Speaker 2: at one time. Um, you know, you want to be
Speaker 2: present as a mother, you want to be an efficient leader,
Speaker 2: you're obviously a daughter, partner. Soon I realized that
Speaker 2: It wasn't about doing it all. It was doing, uh,
Speaker 2: what truly matters at the right time. And so finding
Speaker 2: time for my personal passions, uh, was, I felt key
Speaker 2: to avoiding the burnout, you know, which comes with just
Speaker 2: so many responsibilities. And so I made sure that I
Speaker 2: carved out some time for myself, and, uh, I went
Speaker 2: back to running. That's something that recharges me. Um, and I,
Speaker 2: and I truly, you know, here, I, I truly believe
Speaker 2: that as well.
Speaker 2: We often, um, you know, lose ourselves, so we mustn't
Speaker 2: do that. Uh we are individuals or we were individuals
Speaker 2: with interests and passions before we became mothers, and keeping
Speaker 2: them alive, uh, sort of ensures that, uh, you know, we,
Speaker 2: we're good and overall our well-being.
Speaker 1: I love that you carve out those pockets of self-care
Speaker 1: and you do it through running, and I think that's fantastic. Um,
Speaker 1: I want to talk to you a bit about the
Speaker 1: mom guilt that you mentioned, um.
Speaker 1: How do you, is there, is it, does it ever
Speaker 1: go away or how do you then cope with it
Speaker 1: if it doesn't
Speaker 1: go away?
Speaker 2: Um, look, as I said, mom guilt, I, I think
Speaker 2: all mothers would experience at some point. It, it doesn't
Speaker 2: go away. Uh, you know, it's always there with you,
Speaker 2: but you learn to kind of deal with it. Uh,
Speaker 2: in the beginning, it's really, really tough, you know, you,
Speaker 2: you're questioning yourself constantly, am I doing the right thing?
Speaker 2: I'm leaving my baby behind? Am I doing enough at home? Um,
Speaker 2: you know, am I
Speaker 2: Missing out on all these moments, uh, the first probably smile,
Speaker 2: the laugh, the, the walking, etc. But then I kind
Speaker 2: of reframed, uh, my perspective. Um, instead of seeing work
Speaker 2: as time away from my children, I started seeing it
Speaker 2: as setting an example. Um, I want my daughters to
Speaker 2: grow up, uh, knowing that passion, purpose, and resilience matter, that, uh,
Speaker 2: they can pursue their dreams and still be
Speaker 2: Great, great mothers, great daughters, or whatever role that they
Speaker 2: want to play. And uh
Speaker 2: I, I said that, uh, what that means is just
Speaker 2: be present in that moment. If you're at work, you
Speaker 2: give your best knowing that you're building a future for yourself,
Speaker 2: you're building a future for your family, and when you're
Speaker 2: with your children, you just intentionally setting time um to
Speaker 2: focus on making it meaningful. Uh, and, uh, I think
Speaker 2: at work, the supportive work environment at TCS made a
Speaker 2: big difference, uh, for me, um, personally.
Speaker 2: Having supportive colleagues and a, and a culture that values
Speaker 2: this work-life balance uh helped kind of ease that uh guilt. It, it, it, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, that's, that's what I'd say, uh, Sharon, that's
Speaker 2: how I dealt with it.
Speaker 1: I love that and I think you're right, having that
Speaker 1: supportive work environment, um, it definitely plays a part as well. Um,
Speaker 1: so you know Sweta, that there are women like you
Speaker 1: who take that maternity and then they go back to work.
Speaker 1: There are others who may take a slightly longer break,
Speaker 1: maybe they want to spend the first year uh with
Speaker 1: their child, um, and then you know they go on
Speaker 1: to manage the their new household before rejoining the workforce, um.
Speaker 1: What, what advice would you give to women who are
Speaker 1: looking to relaunch their careers after an extended period?
Speaker 2: Um, look, again, uh, there's no one size fit all,
Speaker 2: you know. You, everybody does what works for them best.
Speaker 2: You want to take a little bit of a longer break,
Speaker 2: you want to spend more time with kids, and that's,
Speaker 2: that's fine. Um, I feel the biggest barriers women face, uh,
Speaker 2: when they're re-entering, uh, the workforce, uh, I can think
Speaker 2: of 3 actually.
Speaker 2: Uh, there's a skill gap, skill gap. So, particularly if you're,
Speaker 2: if you're in the tech sector, it's just so fast-paced,
Speaker 2: you just feel, uh, am I still relevant with, you know,
Speaker 2: so much happening, um, and then, you know, it is also, uh,
Speaker 2: confidence issues, uh, and, and here I feel the imposter
Speaker 2: syndrome is actually real.
Speaker 2: Um, and the last bit, uh, I talked about, which
Speaker 2: is really how will I balance work and, and family
Speaker 2: and managing those, those expectations. So my, um, advice to
Speaker 2: tackle these challenges is, um,
Speaker 2: While, uh, whenever there is an opportunity, uh, you know,
Speaker 2: whether it is during that course of time, the maternity break,
Speaker 2: and you can make time for yourself, um, upscale. So
Speaker 2: participate in upskilling programs, um, that way you will still
Speaker 2: continue to stay relevant and stay abreast of what's happening.
Speaker 2: Um, reach out to mentors. Um, I did that. I
Speaker 2: did not kind of unplug completely, so I was still
Speaker 2: in touch and I was talking to mentors at work, um, and, uh,
Speaker 2: also network actively if, if that's possible, you know, you
Speaker 2: have all of these wonderful, uh, uh, you know, networking platforms.
Speaker 2: All this will, you know, kind of helps, uh, identify
Speaker 2: the gaps that you have and the support that you
Speaker 2: need and how do you really bridge that gap.
Speaker 2: And I think, uh, uh, out of these, uh, finding
Speaker 2: a supportive network, uh, and, and, and whether that's your family,
Speaker 2: it's your friends, it's your peers to talk about your worries, uh,
Speaker 2: that really help helps alleviate, uh, the stress. Um, and, uh,
Speaker 2: I think very, very important, uh, if you're coming back
Speaker 2: and you're rejoining, find us a
Speaker 2: supportive work environment where you can juggle uh these responsibilities and,
Speaker 2: and you know, you have so many of these companies
Speaker 2: that implement policies such as flexible working arrangements and, you know,
Speaker 2: different career development pathways. So, uh, you know, I think that's,
Speaker 2: that's very, very important. Uh, the last bit.
Speaker 2: Do not underestimate yourself. I think we tend to do
Speaker 2: that when we've been away. Uh, the experience, uh, that
Speaker 2: you gain, and, and I tell that to everybody, the
Speaker 2: experience that you gained during this career break, whether it's
Speaker 2: managing a household, managing kids, multitasking.
Speaker 2: Um, don't, um, don't undervalue that. It's, it's invaluable and
Speaker 2: you take that as well, uh, to your workplace when
Speaker 2: you're getting back.
Speaker 1: That's beautiful. Um, I think, yes, a lot of times
Speaker 1: women we do so much, but we, yeah, we don't
Speaker 1: give ourselves enough credit, so you're right, don't underestimate ourselves indeed.
Speaker 1: That's beautiful, reta, um, and I mean this is the
Speaker 1: wellness hour on CNA 938, so I got to ask um.
Speaker 1: You know, with your busy life, uh, what does wellness
Speaker 1: mean to you?
Speaker 2: Um, I, I think I touched upon it in the,
Speaker 2: in the beginning. For me, wellness is about balance. It's
Speaker 2: just finding harmony between your physical health, your mental well-being, um, and, uh,
Speaker 2: finding that balance between the different roles you play. At
Speaker 2: sometimes there's, uh, you know, one role which is more
Speaker 2: pronounced than the other, but being able to kind of
Speaker 2: balance them, um, and, uh,
Speaker 2: The second is, uh, of course, as a sustainability leader, um,
Speaker 2: I see well-being, uh, and sustainability as, as deeply interconnected
Speaker 2: as well. Um, so I was talking about running. So
Speaker 2: whether you're running or you're cycling, or you're taking public transport, um,
Speaker 2: trying to kind of, you mentioned, uh, intertwine that purpose, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, with, uh, with what you do or, or
Speaker 2: who you are. Uh, and so if, if you're running,
Speaker 2: for example, you can.
Speaker 2: Reduce your carbon footprint and you're obviously also focusing on
Speaker 2: your physical and mental being. So just making those small
Speaker 2: intentional choices every day, whether it's using, you know, reusable bottles, you,
Speaker 2: you know, uh, getting more locally sourced produced food. These
Speaker 2: little choices they make, uh, you know, a lot of
Speaker 2: difference in terms of your own, um, well-being and as
Speaker 2: well as that of the planet. So
Speaker 2: at the end of it, uh, wellness I feel is
Speaker 2: about feeling energized, uh, be feeling fulfilled, and that's what
Speaker 2: I strive for every day.
Speaker 1: Wonderful. And, uh, before we let you go, Shweta, what
Speaker 1: would you like to say to our female listeners, your,
Speaker 1: your own, you know, all the women in your life
Speaker 1: for this upcoming International Women's Day. What would you like
Speaker 1: to say to them?
Speaker 2: Um, I just like to, uh, say that, uh, of course, uh,
Speaker 2: advanced wishes for, uh, for, uh, International Women's Day. I
Speaker 2: think we should celebrate ourselves, uh, uh, we're, you mentioned
Speaker 2: we are superhumans just trying to juggle between these different
Speaker 2: facets of life, um, and, uh, motherhood doesn't change all
Speaker 2: of that if, if only it, it deepens those, uh,
Speaker 2: those qualities and, um, I really feel that.
Speaker 2: Uh, cherish, cherish yourself, value yourself, uh, focus on your,
Speaker 2: yourself and your well-being, and if you're doing well, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, you can then take better care of, of
Speaker 2: others around you and, and fulfill, you know, the roles,
Speaker 2: these different roles that, that we spoke about. So that's,
Speaker 2: that's my message.
Speaker 1: Wonder, cherish yourself, um, and yes, to take care of
Speaker 1: your
Speaker 1: Self, then you'll have, you know, you can't pour from
Speaker 1: a cup that's half full, right? So if your cup
Speaker 1: is
Speaker 2: full,
Speaker 1: you can take care of those around you as well.
Speaker 1: This has been wonderful. Thank you so much, Shwetahawatch, who
Speaker 1: is head of sustainability services at Tata Consultancy Services APEC
Speaker 1: and ANC. It's been wonderful and thank you for sharing
Speaker 1: a bit of your life with us.
Speaker 2: Thanks
Speaker 2: so much, Sheryl, wonderful speaking with
Speaker 2: you.
Speaker 1: This is the Wellness Hour on CNA 938.