Son's request turns mother's working life around

Dubai: Vera Corneille has a nine-to-five job at the moment, but that was not the case three years ago. She was a manager at a restaurant on Shaikh Zayed Road, where it was work, work and more work. Besides being career-oriented, she was also a wife and a mother to a 13-year old son and a 19-year old daughter.

At one point, the restaurant was struggling and about to be closed down. Corneille, however, thought the restaurant was worth saving. She decided to take up the challenge of managing it.

At the time she was already a director of a company which meant that when she wasn't managing the restaurant at night, she would be working during the day. By the time her work day ended it would be about 2am or 3am. It would then take her about 20-25 minutes to get to her home in Sharjah on traffic-free days.

One might think that after such a long day, she would be irritable. However, her family was surprised to find she would actually look forward to another long day at work.

A workaholic since childhood, she believes she inherited the trait from her parents.

Immediately after she took up the job, the restaurant started bringing in money and this was how she justified putting in long hours at work — she felt that all her efforts were worth it.

Corneille received immense support from her family. However, there were times when her husband could not handle it and there would be conflicts.

Her health was also compromised because of her long working hours. She could not get enough sleep and her sleep patterns were disturbed.

Also, despite the fact that she worked at a restaurant, she would not eat proper meals. Corneille was so dedicated to providing excellent service for her guests, that she put her health at risk in the process.

With her only day off from work being Friday, Vera had no social life whatsoever. She would hardly have time to spend with her family. Her friends, however, would visit her at the restaurant from time to time. In addition, her daughter would assist her during the day so she did spend time with her.

Turning point

Her 13-year old son, on the other hand, was not so lucky. He would hardly get any time with his mother. One day, Corneille came home to find her son in tears. He said: "You have all the time for your 50 children [staff] at work. But you don't have time for your 13-year old son."

That was the turning point for Corneille. She realised the impact her job was having on her family and that was when she decided it was time to slow down. She stepped down from her position as restaurant manager and decided to take on a normal nine-to-five job.