The Parenting Juggle: Hybrid Working and Finding the Balance

Why is it important to balance work and home life?

 

Matt Holmes - Head of Digital Marketing at Card Factory

One of the few benefits of the coronavirus pandemic was the seismic shift in attitudes to remote/flexible working which has helped working dads like me to achieve greater balance. For a working parent this flexibility isn't about being able to work from my house in my joggers (although that is a massive plus), it's about enabling further bonding time with the people I love and my local community. My daughter was born during the first lockdown and working from home has allowed us to bond more and for me to play a more active role in the avalanche of household duties that come along with parenthood. Knowing I have the flexibility to finish a little bit early when I need to (without that commute) means I can coach my son's football team and help build lifelong memories for him and other families in my local community.

 

Victoria Swalwell–Tolley - Senior Account Manager at tmwi

My personal view on working from home / hybrid working is that it’s important to get the balance right for the individual, not to force anyone to feel like they have to move from completely remote to hybrid. This is especially important for parents who may have found a routine that works for them around childcare and working and by making this change unnecessarily may cause more stress than it's worth. Being able to work remotely is a great thing, and something I can’t believe we hadn’t really done before. It's given time for people to do the things they may not have done if they were commuting and it’s important to give people time back at home to spend it with their families. I know that it made a massive difference to us at home with my husband seeing our son every evening now whereas if he was in the office he would be missing out on bath and bedtime. Being hybrid suits me as I personally need that social interaction with other adults, but it offers flexibility in ways that we wouldn’t have had before.

 

Sam Farhall - Head of Digital Operations at Pets at Home

The last couple of years has normalised the role of "dad" in the workplace, especially within the context of childcare; remote, flexible and hybrid working has made it easier to "share the load" - and I've certainly noticed more and more dads at the nursery pickup. But I do think this is hugely impacted by the culture of the Business, companies that have failed to adapt to post-covid ways of working are perpetuating the gender "norms" where the onus often falls on the woman to deal with childcare arrangements. Not only is flexible working more beneficial for work-life balance, it creates a more level playing field where parental responsibilities are more easily shared and can enable female colleagues to remove the historic sole burden of childcare.

 

Hannah Campbell - Senior Director & Women's Coach

People are whole beings. Work is an important part of what we do, but it shouldn't be everything about us. I've done the 15/16 hour days before and it is mentally and physically draining. We don't get the best out of people when they're working on fumes. Similarly parents have such a massive mental, emotional and physical load on their shoulders. Having an employer that's open to work being more flexible around your life, in my experience, usually means you give 110% rather than working at a suboptimal level because you're on the verge of a breakdown!

 

Toby Wilman - Lead Talent Partner at Infinity Works part of Accenture

I feel incredibly lucky to be able to be there for my kids and partner and I've been able to share all the special moments of my little boys' first years which without the pandemic would have never been an option. I sometimes even feel guilty talking about it with working parents who missed out on all of this.

I'm now in a hybrid routine which allows me to be flexible, I can do one, two or three days a week in the office if I want but I don't think you would ever catch me doing any more than that. 

 

Natasha  Munro – Search & Selection Resourcer at The Candidate

The Pandemic has brought many changes to the traditional working structure, with many employers offering a more flexible approach to working from home, even with this in mind when my youngest tuned one and I made the decision to return to work finding an opportunity to suit seemed an impossible task! 

With a very busy household of five children aged from 1 to 14, the ever growing schedule of school plays parents evenings and after school activities played on my mind. 

As any parent knows finding that work life balance is the most important factor when searching for suitable opportunities and in my opinion the key to a long and successful tenure with any company. 

Luckily for me I found a role which matched my busy home life perfectly, a position which provides me with elements of flexibility to a traditional working week. 

I appreciate offering working from home/ flexible working is not one size fits all and can be a challenging feet for employers to manage but with the willingness to have an open conversation regarding the subject this will attract a more committed and sustained workforce. 

 

Leah Tillyer - Ops Director and Career and Confidence Coach

After having my little boy in 2019 I returned to work, 4-days a week, for a tech company based in Alderley Edge. Not long after returning to work I was promoted into the position of Ops Director - the pressure and responsibility I felt stepping into this role was huge. I was battling with my new identity as a Mum and trying to figure out how I could show up in both roles.

I eventually returned to work full-time - I believed that this was expected of me as an Ops Director. I was the only female Director in the business and only mother within the wider leadership team. I felt like I had to run at 110% just to keep up. Eventually I burnt out. Trying to do it all had taken its toll and I had to take some time off. 

After this, I built some really clear boundaries around my work and home life that were vital. What shocked me most about my lack of boundaries previously was how the team had followed my lead and were also on the path to burnout. The impact of my lacking boundaries was far reaching.

What's clear to me now is that I held some unrealistic expectations of what being a mother and working looked like. I'm fortunate that I could be open and candid about my experience with the Directors within the business and we looked at how we could better the business for parents and carers. I know this isn't the case for all.

I think the pandemic has changed the way many businesses operate not only down to technological advances but through everyone seeing each other through a more human lens. There is a greater sense of empathy. What I'm also noticing is Dad's taking more and more shared responsibility for childcare and this adds to the noise of change needed within systems to support families.

I found once I was open and honest about where I was at, what I could take on and how the team could get the most from me, it worked for everyone.