For Carmen C. Neff, the pandemic meant more work, not less.
As a “project manager on steroids” for DuPont’s manufacturing of Tyvek®, a synthetic material used in the manufacture of medical packaging and hazmat suits, Neff was tasked with keeping equipment, staffing and scheduling on track.
“Tyvek is very important to frontline workers in the medical field; products we make have been used even more during the pandemic,” she says. “We really cranked up production. We had to be creative in getting teams together, and our plans had to be more crisp than ever.”
Because of the increased need, Neff asked people who didn’t usually have a leadership role to take on more responsibility, with her coaching and mentoring as support.
“I’m used to being a leader and delegating here and there, but we needed more leaders,” she says. “Giving them the opportunity to shine has been so important to me.”
Neff and her husband both work for DuPont, so they both understood the increasing demands of the other’s job. Neff also relied on a group of five women friends, using Friday Zoom calls and bicycle rides to connect and de-stress.
“We made a decision early on that we would talk about how we feel, and a lot of things happened — we’ve lost loved ones, babies have been born,” she says. “Through it all, we have been supportive of one another. I really don’t keep anything bottled up any more.”
