Flexible working? We still have a long way to go..
I thought the one positive thing to come out of the COVID pandemic was the acceptance and growth of flexible working… and then I read a recent Guardian article and, to my frustration, I realised we still have a LONG way to go.
No wonder women are still facing glass ceilings.
No wonder we still have a gender pay gap.
No wonder stress levels are through the roof.
The Mental Health Foundation reported that: “74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point over the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. 81% of women said this compared to 67% of men”
The Guardian report below states:
“…Over half of UK working parents would consider leaving their job for a more flexible role.”
.. Yet we have the ongoing narrative from many employers that they are looking for ways to “convince people to get back to the office”.
Juggling Family Life
When I had my first child, nearly 11 years ago, there was no option to work from home. I had a roughly 90-minute commute each way and so my solution was to find the nursery with the longest opening hours for my daughter.
Yes, that’s the sole reason I chose her nursery. Because it was the only one around that did 7.30am till 6pm hours.
I was incredibly fortunate in many ways:
- My employer permitted me to go back 3 days initially and then increase to 4 days a week.
- I was in a senior role and earning a high enough salary to afford the extortionate fees.
- When I had to duck out of meetings to go and collect my sick child from nursery or cut a call short to catch my train for pick up, no one frowned at me.
- I had some family nearby who were a very valuable ‘back up’ plan if my childcare fell through.
And YET, I still found it incredibly challenging and when my 2nd child came along a few years later, we had to reevaluate and consider if our situation was sustainable which, by the way, it wasn’t!
Not all working parents..
Have the financial means to pay nursery costs.
Have considerate employers.
Have a local network for support and back up.
So what can we do?
Understand that for some people, flexible working is the difference between whether they can continue to work or not.
It means they can afford childcare, progress in their careers, look after their mental health.
They can do all of that AND thrive at work. If we empower them, support them and encourage them fully.
