Career Loving Parents (Working Mums – and dads too!)

Are you a Career Loving Parent? Why not take this quiz to find out what your chances are of getting a part-time or flexible job …

Quiz

Full Time But Still Flexible

Here I am. Four weeks into working life following ten months maternity.

And how am I coping?

I’m going to be honest. It is tiring and my head can be all over the place.

But it’s not been as hard as I imagined. Organisation is key and I’m lucky that I have flexible employers that accommodate nursery pick-ups/drop offs.

Which is why I’m massively in support of the Hire Me My Way Campaign.

Empowering Women Back Into The Workforce

 

I’ve blogged previously about my thoughts on wellbeing and a work/life balance. I truly believe to achieve happiness and contentment in your life – especially as a parent – you need a happy medium.

You need time away from being a parent – where you have a role and responsibility outside of raising a small human.

Even if it’s just for a few hours a day.

To regain your sense of person and sense of purpose. Of course I’m not suggesting you don’t feel purpose by being a parent.

It’s the

biggest purpose

in life.

Just that you need that part of yourself back where you’re using your brain, personality and skill set to contribute to the running costs of raising a family.

1 in 4 workers have part-time jobs and everyone now has the right to ask their employer if they can work part-time. But as most working mums know, this apparent easy availability of part time work disguises many problems:

You can ask your current employer if you can work part-time, but what happens if your request is rejected?

And what happens after a few years, when you think it’s time to move on/look for promotion?

What if you take an extended maternity break, so leave your old employer and are looking for a new job when you decide to return to work?

When you’re looking for a new job, less than 1 in 20 are advertised on a part-time basis (for quality jobs with salaries at £20k+ pro rata).

The result is that many people (mostly women) get stuck in their current jobs. And when they have no choice but to look for a new part-time job, its commonplace to be forced to down-skill, taking a salary below their true value in the workplace.

I feel passionate about this. It’s not the world I want to bring my daughter up in.

1,500,000 people in the UK are currently trapped in low-paid part-time jobs below their skill level.

I want her to go out there, get a career she’s happy with, have a family and then return to working in a flexible role that matches her skill set.

And not get trapped and become de-skilled.

 

The Hire Me My Way campaign is calling on all employers to start advertising their new jobs as being open to flexible working options. In other words, extending the ‘right to ask for flexibility’ to day one of a new hire, rather than just being a right for existing employees.

 

Anyone who feels strongly about this issue can sign up to the campaign here: http://hirememyway.org.uk/  to help the Hire Me My Way team put more pressure on employers.

You can check out employers who have joined the campaign and agreed to start hiring flexibly here.

I feel like now is the time to make some changes.

Women are at a stage where they are thriving in careers and we need to keep that skill set in the workforce.

Not penalise them because they’ve had a family.

Take the Quiz here.

Love Missuswolf xxx

Disclosure: Collaborative Post