"Motto: Daddy day rocks."


Pascal Odermatt 

Working 80% as a Senior Manager in Assurance, in Lucerne.

What is your flexibility deal?

Twenty years ago, when my wife and I were still students, she told me that she wanted to have children some time, but would still like to continue working. From then on it was clear to me that I'd like to work part-time at some point.

About ten years ago I discussed this desire with my supervisor. He gave me the green light, and for seven years now I have been working at a capacity of 80%, with the exception of the busy season in January and early February. During this time I organise myself accordingly. For me it was important to have a set day off: Tuesday. I let all my colleagues and clients know about this "Daddy Day", telling them that on this day, I really am unavailable. When I go to clients today and say that I work part-time, I find that customers now have similar models. The support from my supervisor and the teams is crucially important to this model - for which I am also very grateful. There is of course some dependency. If you go to clients and then aren't there on a Tuesday, you need to have colleagues that are experienced and can work autonomously. It works very well.

What is your career tip?

It is important to remain authentic and to try to strike a balance between family and work. I find both just as important. You cannot just focus on your job, or on your family. It was quite difficult at the beginning to set boundaries for myself. You always had the feeling you could do more. Both with clients and in-house the concept of men working part-time was not yet firmly embedded in peoples' minds. I always had to emphasise that Tuesday was my Daddy Day. As time passed people increasingly respected my flexibility. Yes, sometimes the telephone rings and people begin their sentence by saying "I know that this is your Daddy Day". But these boundaries are important and should not be overly diluted. This day is like Sunday for everyone else. I always do something with the kids on this day, like visiting the swimming pool or going cycling. But it also depends on the age of the children. If they are small, they sleep more often. Then they become very demanding, and later on you can again say that you need half an hour, just for yourself.

I now have a guys' group, where I meet with my friends every Thursday. There are 7-8 of us, and all of us now work part-time. It works!

What is your favourite value?

I find all values very good. They are really important we also hang them up in the office. "Work together" is currently the most important value for me. I see how the world is changing. We have many more teams delivering to us, and many more interfaces. This makes it more challenging too. We have to talk a lot to each other and take each other seriously. It is important for us to be reliable, and be able to rely on one another.

My secret habit

I have a daily ritual that helps me tune out: I take a bath every day before or after dinner. I had the wall moved in my house so I could install a bigger bathtub. I read in the bath and this really helps me relax and delve into another world. I know this might not be that optimal from an ecological/economical perspective, but it is a nice ritual for me. Some like to cook, others like to jog, and I like sitting in the bath.

Be yourself. Be unique. is our series broadcasting unique role models, sharing innovative ways of working and celebrating diversity within PwC Switzerland.

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Marc Secretan

Marc Secretan

Partner in charge of Geneva office, PwC Switzerland

Tel: +41 58 792 96 95