I recently surveyed mums on what they were looking for in their career and the number one thing was not more pay, promotion prospects or intellectual stimulation, but flexibility. Flexibility is the holy grail of work for busy mums. We all want it, yet it seems so elusive. And for those of us who have it, we desperately cling on to it, putting up with a job that may be shitty in every way, for fear of losing the ever so rare gem that is flexible working.
It makes me kind of sad and a little bit angry, that in a world where we have so much technology at our disposal and so many options to work remotely (I am typing this from a co-working space) that flexible working is still so elusive.
But there are signs that things are changing. The gig economy is taking hold. Employers are downsizing their office spaces because of the cost and productivity gains that can be realised by allowing employees to work from home. And more and more of us are creating our own flexible work destinies by setting up online businesses where we can work anywhere, at any time.
In years to come flexible working will be the norm, not the exception. But in the meantime, what can we do to make our work more flexible?
Stop assuming and start asking
If you’re already in work, then stop assuming that your employer will not grant your request for flexible working and start asking. Many of us hold back for fear of being told no and continue to complain about our current situation. By law, in Australia, all employers must seriously consider requests for flexible working from eligible employees. You usually need to have worked for your organisation for at least 12 months and be a non-casual member of staff (check here for other eligibility criteria). It is important when putting this request to your employer that you tell them what you are looking for and why. When outlining your why you should demonstrate the value this will deliver to your employer and any strategies you will undertake to minimise the impact to them. For example, if you propose to work from home one day a week, you can point out the time that you will save on commuting and how you propose to spend more uninterrupted time working on strategy. You could propose to work from home on a day that is usually free of meetings and ensure you are available for teleconferences via skype, or a similar tool, if needed.
Manage your boundaries
Perhaps you already have a so-called flexible arrangement but don’t feel this is working for you. Maybe your 3 days a week role is really a 5-day week role with 3 days in the office and a lot of time logging on to the laptop on your days off or when the kids are in bed. Perhaps you despair that flexible work really is possible and are considering increasing your days so that you can actually be paid for the work you are doing. I hear you and I’ve been there too, but this is where you really need to take charge of and manage your boundaries. Some ideas for this include:
- Setting up the expectation that you will not respond to emails on your days off but you can be contacted by phone if the request is urgent (and set up your out of office responder to reflect this too)
- Gradually start cutting back on the login time at home and see what impact this actually has on your output
- Utilise some time management strategies such as only handling emails once or responding to emails in once sentence (better still, eradicate emails completely by picking up the phone, it will save time in the long run), write your to-do list before you leave work each day so you can hit the ground running when you’re next in and focus on your MITs (Most Important Tasks) before doing anything else every day
- Be ruthless about the meetings you attend. Try not to attend any meeting that doesn’t have an agenda or objectives and if someone else from your team is going consider if two of you really need to be there
- Remember the time-management old faithfuls, delegate and say no. Start slowly and work your way up.
- Let go of perfection and stop comparing yourself to the person you were before your flexible work arrangement. I was guilty of this until I realised I wasn’t being fair to myself.
- Finally, if you’re managing your productivity like a ninja and you still find that you’re so busy you barely have time to pee, say hello to your co-workers or eat lunch then it may be time to talk to your manager. This is difficult, I know, but remember you are being paid to work part-time and, at some point, your boss has agreed to your flexible arrangement. The onus is on both of you to make that arrangement work.
Know that it’s possible
I know so many mums who believe that flexible work is so hard to come by that there’s no point in trying. Perhaps they are already in a flexible role and they think that it will be impossible to find their working conditions elsewhere, so they stay and put up with a miserable job for fear of giving up on the flexibility. Or perhaps you’re a mum who wants to return to work after a break and all you see is full-time jobs or part-time jobs that are poorly paid and barely worth the hassle. Know that it isn’t impossible, and the world of work is changing, but it is up to you to make this happen. This is a situation that requires creativity above all else.
My number one tip is to focus on talking to people, rather than applying for jobs. The more you scroll online job boards, the more disheartened you will get. By all means set up some job alerts with the main job sites, and there are some that focus on flexible jobs nowadays, but do not spend hours scrolling through these sites. Instead, spend time working out what it is that you really want from your career in addition to flexibility. What skills do you want to use? What interests you? What do you definitely not want to do? Do you want to work with others or alone? Do you want to be in a not-for-profit or corporate? You can download Part One of my Working Mum Career Change Plan to help you do this work.
And most crucially, talk to others. Talk to others who are doing work you’re interested in and ask them about it. If you want to stay within your industry, then talk to others in organisations you’d like to work for and ask them about the culture. Tell them you’re interested in working there but you want to do so in a flexible way. See what advice they have for you. Employers prefer to recruit somebody they know or someone who is recommended to them. And when its somebody they know they are more likely to bend the rules or come up with something creative that meets the requirements of the person they have in mind, including flexible work conditions. If you’re willing to take short-term contracts or casual positions, then this also goes in your favour. Being a little bit flexible yourself will go a long way.
I hope this has given you some much-needed inspiration and ideas to bring more flexibility into your work life. If you’re ready to find more flexible work and want to get some help making this a reality then book in with me for a FREE working mum SOS call – 30 minutes over skype to strategise solutions to your biggest working mum issues. No obligations. Click here to schedule in your call. Flexible timeslots available!