NEW YORK (AP) – What happened to Sheryl Sandberg could happen to anyone: The woman who wrote the book on balancing career and family will have to figure out how soon she will return to her high-profile job following the unexpected death of her husband.
In the book “Lean In,” the Facebook chief operating officer wrote that marriage is “the biggest career decision” a person can make and implored women who want to move up the corporate ladder to settle with someone who wants to do his share in the home.
Now, Sandberg faces the prospect of raising two young children and continuing in a high-flying tech career without David Goldberg, her husband of 11 years who she often credits with providing the support that was necessary for her to succeed both personally and professionally.
“Dave was my rock,” Sandberg wrote in a Facebook tribute Tuesday after the funeral of David Goldberg, who died in a treadmill accident while vacationing in Mexico. “When I got upset, he stayed calm. When I was worried, he said it would be ok. When I wasn’t sure what to do, he figured it out.”
Sandberg has not made public her plans on returning to Facebook, but the decision she faces highlights a question that the average American worker is not prepared to consider until a similar tragedy strikes: How soon is too soon to return to work after losing a partner, parent, or child?