How Cisco supported me on my journey of becoming a parent
João Oliveira is a Server Virtualization Engineer at Customer Experience Center in Lisbon. Find out more about how Cisco supported him when he first became a parent.
My name is João Oliveira, and I am a Server Virtualization Engineer, working in the Technical Assistance Center (TAC) team. In this role I’m responsible for providing support to Cisco customers around the globe on their Data Center Solutions.
After a long stint in a previous company, I joined the TAC team at Cisco Customer Experience Center in Lisbon in August 2021. Not long after I joined Cisco, I was given an early Christmas present: my partner told me she was pregnant with our first child. Knowing that I was about to be a father for the first time was one of the happiest moments of my life.
However, since I had just joined Cisco, I was still under my probation period which made me worry about cracking the news to my manager. After speaking with him, I realized that my fears, as it turns out, were completely unfounded: Cisco’s culture puts you and your family first. There wasn’t a single prenatal appointment that I wasn’t allowed to attend, no exam where I couldn’t be present. At Cisco, the time for you and your family is greatly respected and encouraged.
After 9 months, the big day arrived: on September the 2nd, 2022 at 1:29 AM Francisca was born. Now the real challenge had begun, and there wasn’t a single day that I felt unsupported by Cisco.
One of the benefits included in our reward package was priceless since it provided private insurance for myself, my partner and, naturally, my child. This allowed us to circumvent the constraints that affected the Portuguese National Health Service.
Also, to give you some context, the Portuguese law entitles the father to a 25 Business Day leave after the child is born, which can be enjoyed straight after the birth altogether or diverted along the months. But at Cisco that’s no rule: the first thing I was told was to take as much time as I needed. I ended up spending 2 full months with my family, from the 1st of September until the 1st of November. Not once was I rushed to come back to work, but at the same time, there wasn’t a day where I didn’t feel supported by my colleagues and manager, who always looked to know if everything was fine. The team truly acted like a Family.
To round it all up, with Cisco’s hybrid work approach, I am still able to stay at home, focus on work while taking care of my baby girl and helping mommy with everything needed. And of course, sometimes I take Francisca to team meetings so she can get to know her Cisco Family.
In the end, Cisco is the Best Place to Work because of the attentiveness and concern for its employees. I’m proud to work for a company with this care and approach to parenting and paternity, allowing parents to focus on their little ones and fully enjoy this new chapter.
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