Unexpectedly Flourishing: The Unforeseen Benefits of a Career Downshift with Sharon Fan | Ep9

Sharon Fan, a Canadian-Taiwanese, had lived and worked in Asia, North America, Europe before taking charge as the Managing Director of the Taiwan office of a fast growing regional health tech startup. Leading a growing team, she dedicated herself to 15-hour workdays until a significant change reshaped her priorities: motherhood. Opting for a transformative career pivot, Sharon chose to return to her former company, embracing a downshift, including a 50% pay cut, to transition into an individual contributor role. How and why did she do it? And what are her thoughts on it, since making the shift 2 years ago? In our eye-opening conversation today, Sharon also shares about: 🌟Her challenges as a first time mom (“the minutiae of it all”) 🌟Why she embraces the concept of a career downshift and her unique perspective on it 🌟How she balances traveling for work and leisure for up to 30% of a year with her spouse and toddler 🌟Interesting aspects of the work culture in Taiwan that affect family life Connect with Sharon on: 👋LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonfan/ #MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerDownshift #Inspiration #FamilyFirst # Chapters 00:00 Make It Work Introduction 00:11 Episode & Guest Introduction 02:01 Day In A Life 03:56 Why Motherhood Was So Tough For Me 06:49 Why Taking A 50% paycut Was Worth it 11:17 Why I Love The Term "Career downshift" 16:02 Work-life Integration In Taiwan 20:21 Working With My Spouse 25:53 Outro —------- Follow along! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you. PS. We are always looking for great stories to be featured!  ➡LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/  ➡Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/ ➡Email: [email protected]