Other employees of SIA “ZZ Dats” who live not only in Riga, but also in other Latvian cities, such as Liepāja, Jēkabpils, Valmiera and elsewhere, choose to work remotely. According to all three mothers, it is work in the IT industry that gives the opportunity to combine professional development and the role of mother on a daily basis. The most important thing in work is to have a result, so if you need to take your child to training or to the doctor during the day, this is not an obstacle – working in IT also offers flexible working hours.
To combine everyday work in the IT industry and raising children
Vita Jekimova is the project manager of SIA “ZZ Dats”, whose family has three-year-old Paula and six-year-old Miks. She has been working in the company for more than 10 years: “I used to think that I would definitely not work in one company for more than 3-5 years. I had read articles related to personnel management, in which it was recommended to change the workplace every 3-5 years in order to gain new knowledge, experience, professional challenges and expand my contact network, however, I have been at “ZZ Dats” for more than 10 years now. I started my job as a marketing specialist – for several years I helped develop the company’s image. Two years ago, management made an offer to become an IT project manager. I must admit that I was scared after the offer. I remember that the director of the company personally called and encouraged me for this position. I am currently involved in the process of developing and maintaining IT projects.” Vita is pleased that she manages to combine the management of socially important projects with family and raising children. One of such projects that Vita works with on a daily basis is the exchange of cross-border e-prescription data with certain member states, so that citizens can buy prescription drugs outside the borders of Latvia, and vice versa – guests from other countries could buy the necessary medicines from us in Latvia.
Vita particularly appreciates the opportunity to work remotely: “It was especially important when the children were smaller and more sick. If the little ones had a cold and couldn’t help ome, I used the opportunity to work remotely. Also, the employer is always understanding if children need to be taken to the doctor during work.”
Santa Šeļegovska is a programmer of SIA “ZZ Dats”, she has programmed several municipal information systems. Santa lives in Riga and appreciates that on weekdays it is possible to take the children out of the kindergarten on time. Six-year-old Krister and two-year-old Marcus are growing up in her family. Santa started working at SIA “ZZ Dats” after her studies, she already had the work experience gained during that time in another information technology company, and she has been in the team of her current workplace for 10 years. “Combining work responsibilities with family works well because the workplace provides remote work and flexible working hours. If one of the children has a mild illness, then I can work remotely and take care of the sick little one at the same time. Also, if the need arises, I can run out during work to, for example, take the child to the doctor or get some necessary thing, but I can perform my work duties later in the evening or earlier in the morning. It is not necessary to be at work from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, of course without missing any scheduled meeting, which is mostly done remotely. A working day in the IT industry is essentially similar to that in other industries, where the employee can perform his duties mostly independently.”
On the other hand, 3 children grow up in the family of Laima Genava, IS tester-documenter of SIA “ZZ Dats” – Gustav is 11 years old, Aneta is 8 years old and Matīs is 4 years old. Laima’s previous work experience was in accounting, but her master’s studies in RTU’s Business Informatics study program helped her change her occupation, and Laima has been working as a tester-documenter for nine years. The main responsibilities of her position include testing the functionality of various applications, analyzing errors, developing documentation, as well as updating it. Laima has worked on the testing of document management and accounting systems, which are currently used by several municipalities throughout Latvia.
Laima admits that being a mother and working full-time is sometimes very difficult, however, the IT industry is grateful to employees with children, Laima believes: “In any case, I don’t feel any negative attitudes or stereotypes at work. At “ZZ Dats” Ltd., we can work remotely, in the evenings we can finish the work delayed during the day, the children can reach us at any time, and this gives a sense of security to both me and the children. The work is flexible and suitable for new parents.”
Laima’s family lives in Jelgava county: “On the one hand, the pandemic also gave something good – the opportunity to work remotely and the understanding that work in this way is also possible and is a normal practice. I work remotely, a few times a month I go to the office in the quiet center of Riga. Mornings are not so rushed, I can calmly take the children to educational institutions, return home and start work. On the other hand, in the afternoon, in the evening, I don’t have to spend an hour on the road to take the children to groups. Time management is very important so that at the end of the day the work is done and other duties are fulfilled.”
According to Vita’s observations, the IT industry is dynamic and changing: “Technologies develop, the needs of society and its skill level also change. You could encounter stereotypes about the IT industry more often 10-15 years ago, for example, you could often hear questions from peers, can you reinstall a computer? However, over time, public understanding of the IT industry has grown and most already know that IT is not just computer network administrators.”
If you grow up in the IT environment, will you become a programmer?
Mothers gave different answers to the question of whether their children understand their duties and perhaps would like to do something similar in life. “My children know that I test the operation of applications, simply – whether the programs do what they are supposed to do. I asked if they would like to do something similar in life. The answer from everyone was: “Maybe… Because I would like to get a salary,” says Laima about the future possible choice of profession for her three children.
Vita’s preschool children think that the most fantastic profession is a seller in a toy store, although she has told the children what she does, what projects the company develops: “The children were fascinated by the story about the creation of a register of unmanned aircraft (drones), which was developed by one of the “ZZ Dats “for teams.”
Six-year-old Krister knows a little about his mother’s work, but Santa says that his son is still too young to understand the IT industry and what is happening in her work would be interesting.
Quality spent joint free time
Santa spends his free time with the children on walks, on playgrounds or riding bicycles: “We also like to cook or play a computer game together. Most of my free time is related to my children and right now, while the children are small, we enjoy it together!”
Meanwhile, Laima’s children dance in folk dances in their free time, and Gustav plays hockey, so family holidays are quite busy: “If there is an opportunity, we like to go outside, go to playgrounds, swim or visit the cinema, we try to catch the feeling of holidays. I myself have very little free time, but I spend the little bit of it on reading books or playing sports.”
Vita is grateful to her husband, with whom she shares the daily responsibility of taking children to and from educational institutions, taking them to sports training. Since my son is passionate about BMX, we go to one of the “pump-truck” bike tracks on weekends.
How do children celebrate Mother’s Day?
Every year Laima attends concerts dedicated to Mothers, where children present self-made greeting cards and flowers: “It’s nice to receive congratulations, so yes, I expect at least a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek this year!”
The children of Vitus celebrate Mother’s Day with flowers: “We go on a joint family outing, we visit our grandmothers together. Shortly before Mother’s Day, the preschool that my children attend organizes a child-mom date. It is very exciting to go on a date with your little one. On this day, the children take care of their mother – they ask what the mother wants – tea or coffee, they bring the chosen drink to the mother on a tray. With the help of the teacher, the children have prepared the delicacies themselves. It’s just the two of us at the table. We sip a drink and chat undisturbed. Very warm and heartwarming!”
On the other hand, Santa’s children, together with their father, give her a surprise every year on Mother’s Day: “For several years now, the oldest child has been independently drawing and writing a greeting for me. The nicest congratulation was the mini Mother’s Day concert at home.”
In 2024, Mother’s Day will be celebrated in Latvia on May 12.
SIA “ZZ Dats” is a 100% Latvian company founded in 1995, and since the beginning of its operation, its main areas of activity are the Unified Municipal System, cloud computing and the development, implementation and maintenance of original software, providing services to Latvian municipalities, state institutions and commercial companies.
SIA “ZZ Dats” is active in the field of research and development of web solutions and electronic services, paying special attention to the electronicization of business processes, system security, quality and user satisfaction.
Tags: Mothers Day warm hug kiss cheek combine family work industry Day
-
