There aren’t many corporate gigs where sleeping on the job – and soundly sleeping at that – wouldn’t be a strike against you.
For Lewis Krell, our Lead Dad of the Week from British Columbia, in Canada, sleeping well was proof that his company was doing its job – at least for his children when they were young. The father of two is the head of strategic partnerships at Happiest Baby, maker of the SNOO Smart Sleeper, which was created with M.I.T. to help babies sleep longer.
Check that logistic of life off the list. But how Krell stepped into the Lead Dad role came about because his employer allows him to work remotely and – aligning with its values – gives him flexibility. It’s made a difference for his wife Sam who works in advertising and has to be in the office several days a week.
During the Covid lockdown, the couple wasn’t able to get any help for their newborn, and he relied on the SNOO to keep his daughter sleeping. He bought that one, but it inspired him to seek out a job at the company. “SNOO was our robotic night nurse,” he said. “Every night I’d say, Good night wife, Good night daughter, Good night SNOO.”
It was a big jump from the travel tech space, which was all about, well, traveling. “I just felt, Let’s be Dad. I wanted to be there for everything. I can change that diaper, take the baby on a walk, put her down in a SNOO,” he said. “I also realized that my old job was travel heavy. I didn’t want a job where I was going to be that road warrior.”
What’s been refreshing is the understanding he gets at work. “My team knows to not call me between 5pm and 7pm because I’m going to do pick-up and bath time,” he said. “I have no trouble doing stuff at night or getting up early. My daughter will come and crash calls at some times. At some companies, people get chastised for being unprofessional. At our company no one is going to get mad at you for being a dad.”
His big lesson for other aspiring Lead Dads is to pick your industry carefully. “I started in finance and that was definitely not a family friendly industry. People were not taking paternity leave!”
And second: know when to switch jobs. Travel tech was not ever going to be as conducive as baby tech!
But the biggest tip: “Do what you can so both parents don’t feel like they’re not losing their minds,” he said. “I’m working full time at a reasonably demanding job, but I’m also trying to do as much as I can to lighten the load.”
Welcome, Lewis, to The Company of Dads!
