Bank Manager and Mother

 

Vocabulary

order	pick up	order of business
daycare	have to	figure out
enjoy	organized	essential
before	after	maternity leave
colleague	customer	put a lot of myself
easy	difficult	balancing act
major	whole	challenge
aspect	part-time	think/thought (2)
anymore	nothing	full-time
solution	innovative	find/found
share	another	run/ran (2)
want	start	handover
way	mean (2)	realize
stay	grateful	be able to
staff	boss	regular
adjust	clear	make it clear
equal	partner	from the start
either	member	issue (2)
need to	pitch in	still (2)
fun	my turn	take over
always	happy	stay home
while	weekly	stint

 
 

Video:  Part-Time Bank Manager

  Transcript

It’s the first day of the work week for bank manager Claudia Hatje. But the first order of business is figuring out who will pick up their daughter from daycare this afternoon: today she’ll have to.

Being organized is essential — at home and on the job.

“I had enjoyed my job before I took maternity leave. And when I went on it and said good-bye to my colleagues and customers, that wasn’t easy.
I put a lot of myself into my work.”

Being the boss and the mother of a young child is a balancing act.

“The major challenge isn’t the managerial one at work; it’s the whole aspect of being a working mum. I think all women or parents who work part-time face the same organizational challenges. Being a bank manager, that isn’t the hard part of it anymore — I’ve been doing that for ten years now. So that’s nothing new for me.”

But she’s found an innovative solution to that challenge: job sharing with another working mom. Mondays and Tuesdays, Katrin Wrrarge runs the bank. On Wednesdays, they do the handover.

“It’s a great solution. Back when I wanted to start a family myself, I started to think what that would mean for my job. And I realized there is no way I would be able to stay on as a bank manager. So I’m really grateful that this worked out.”

For the twelve regular staff, having two bosses was something to adjust to.

“We make it clear from the start that we were equal partners. And that the staff could come to either one of us with issues.”

But even with a part-time job, other family members still need to pitch in.

“On Mondays one grandmother picks my son up from daycare; on Tuesdays, the other grandmother takes over, and Wednesdays, it’s my turn. He has fun with his grandmothers, but he’s always happy when it’s my turn.”

Now it’s Katrin Wrrarge’s turn to stay home while Claudia Hatje does her weekly stint as bank manager.

 

 
 

  Questions

1. The first thing in the morning that Claudia the bank manager thinks about is mortgages. True or false?

2. She had been a successful bank manager before she became a mother. Yes or no?

3. Were her subordinates and colleagues happy to see her go on maternity leave?

4. According to Claudia, Managing a bank is more difficult than being a working mother. Is this correct or wrong?

5. How long has she been a bank manager?

6. What is their solution?

7. How many regular employees work at the bank?

8. Only Katrin and her husband care for their children. True or false?

9. What did you see in the video?
 
 
A. Are you a working mother?

B. Should mothers look after their children all the time? Or should they work full-time or part-time?

C. Are there many daycare centers in your city?

D. What is your company’s policy regarding maternity?

E. Do grandmothers look after children while their mothers work?

F. Some or many of your female friends or colleagues sacrifice their careers to raise their children. Yes or no?

G. Do you know of very successful women with children?
 
 

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