Where passion changes lives
When life starts to change, it can feel overwhelming to manage it all. From moving across the country to growing a family, ZS knows it’s important to support both professional and personal development. By offering maternity and family leave, flexible work schedules, open calendars, social support from groups like Women@ZS and more, ZS supports our people in and out of the office. ZSers love that they get to log on and work with clients across the globe on projects they’re passionate about, but they also love they get to log off and connect with other things important to them. ZSers like Angela Wang, a strategy insights and planning manager based out of Detroit, are empowered to manage this balance.
Since joining ZS as an associate nine years ago, Angela has worked on many different things. “The mix of projects keeps things interesting and keeps me mentally fulfilled,” she says. “I’ve worked on so many different projects and with so many clients, doing everything from territory alignments to customer engagement strategies, from forecasting to workshop facilitation.”
Angela’s schedule demanded a shift when she had her first daughter a year and a half ago. “My family and my mental health are very important to me, and I wanted a career where I can prioritize those,” she says. “ZS has many benefits that help me do just that.”
Based in the U.S., ZS offered Angela six weeks of paid time off under our maternity leave policy. This time can be combined with 10 weeks of paid family leave available to any ZSer welcoming a new child or caring for an ill family member. For Angela, this meant 16 weeks of paid time off. This time, combined with vacation, sick days and unpaid leave, allowed Angela to take a full year off work to welcome her new daughter.
“I feel so lucky that I was able to have that amount of time to focus on my family and adjust to being a mother without the added stress of work,” she says. Reflecting deeper, Angela continues, “I was very fortunate in that I was promoted from consultant to manager while on family leave last year. The flip side of that is that when I returned from leave, I was suddenly learning how to be a mom and learning how to be a manager. This, coupled with the fact that my daughter was often sick from daycare germs and daycare closing due to COVID, meant I frequently had to balance work with my personal commitments. I could do this thanks to the flexibility at ZS. In addition to the official flex agreement that I have from before my leave, which allows me to work four days a week, I am also able to easily adjust my schedule as needed on a daily basis to make sure I can be there for my daughter for daycare drop-off and pickup, doctor’s appointments, sick days, etc.”
Supported by ZS and her team, Angela has been able to build a family and grow a career. “The people around me have been so amazing and supportive,” she says with a large smile. “My teammates always make sure I have everything I need to be successful both in my professional and personal life. My professional development coach guides me and has always been incredibly understanding and supportive in helping me shape my work and set boundaries to ensure a good work-life balance.”
To find your passion and learn more about life at ZS, explore our open roles.
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