By Steve Blanchard - September 25, 2018
When Sherri Smith isn’t organizing and supporting the electronic health record for perioperative services at Moffitt Cancer Center, she’s a mom to her two teenagers, Sarah, 17, and Tyler, 16. It’s a job she takes seriously, but admits it can be challenging.
“With kids you have to adjust your life for theirs,” said Smith, a nursing informatics liaison. “There are transportation logistics and doctor appointments. Today the biggest challenge is their part-time jobs and getting them where they need to be on time.”
Moffitt Work-Life Balance Benefits
• Flex time
• Educational assistance
• Backup child and elder care
• Four weeks of paid leave for new mothers
• One week of paid leave for new fathers
• Job protection for mothers beyond the 12 weeks provided by the Family and Medical Leave Act
Fortunately, the flexibility allowed by Moffitt permitted Smith to spend more time raising her children. That’s just one of many examples as to why the cancer center is again named one of Working Mother’s 100 Best Companies. This marks the 10th year that Moffitt is recognized for its strong leadership in creating progressive programs for its workforce in the areas of advancement of women, flexibility, child care and paid parental leave.
Working at Moffitt has certainly made it easier for Smith to be the mom she wants to be.
She says that since she started here in 1991, Moffitt has always accommodated her need for a healthy work-life balance. When her children were in elementary school, Smith recalls that her supervisors allowed her to work weekends, which gave her more free time during the week to volunteer at school.
“When the kids were younger, I was always on the PTA as an officer of some sort,” Smith said. “Moffitt made it easy to be flexible with my schedule to participate at the right times to meet both of their needs. I was actively involved in the schools for more than nine years and never had an issue with work keeping me from my children.”
When her children entered high school, she changed her schedule to weekdays to allow for more involvement with her family’s weekend activities.
In 2016, Smith earned her bachelor’s in nursing through an online program, which was fully funded through Moffitt’s educational assistance program. It’s a career highlight that she knows she couldn’t have achieved working elsewhere.
“Moffitt is a very family-oriented institution,” Smith said. “There are so many places within Moffitt that you can find work that fits you and your family. Everyone is supportive of work-life balance and of being supportive of your children while doing what is best for your career. I’m lucky to work here.”
