Becoming a working parent has undoubtedly been one of the best, but hardest, things I have ever done.
At times, the daily juggle of school runs, work, after school childcare and life admin can seem all consuming. However, the desire to continue to work in a role that I love and strive to perform at the highest level, while still being able to show up for my children, is so important to me. To have to choose between the two would feel like being forced to give up part of my identity.
I know I have said it before, and I’m sure I will inevitably say it again, but I appreciate how fortunate I am to work for a supportive employer.
The world of work, however, is well documented not to be set up to support the majority of working parents. While some leading organisations have taken steps to overcome this, these are still in the minority. According to research published this week by Flex Appeal, for example, 42% of mothers want more flexibility than they currently have, while 93% said they need flexibility due to childcare responsibilities.
In addition, 20% of respondents said they have complete flexibility at work, while 39% have partial flexibility. However, just 14% said they felt comfortable asking for flexible working and a fifth felt their employer was explicitly unsupportive.
Even when flexibility is available, in some cases, this can still be detrimental to employees.
According to the Working mothers and career trade-offs report, also published this week by Zety, 87% of working mothers globally feel that parenthood has impacted their career, with fewer than a fifth of respondents returning to full-time work after maternity leave.
Meanwhile, HiBob’s fifth annual Women in the workplace report, published earlier this month, found that 69% of female respondents said mothers are most negatively impacted by parenthood. A fifth (20%) said they have been left out of key decisions because they were not in the office, while 16% have been given less challenging or lower-visibility work.
Interestingly, though, when asked which groups are most negatively impacted by reduced visibility, men were equally likely to cite men with children (39%) as women with children (39%).
Many of the working parents I have met are among some of the most committed to their employers, particularly when flexibility is given to enable them to better balance work and family lives. While many may have a hard stop to their working day in order to pick up children at a specific time, knowing this can lead them to work to maximum efficiency during their working hours.
When an employer demonstrates flexibility, this is also often likely to be repaid in greater flexibility from the individuals who benefit from this. I know from personal experience that if I am able to leave when needed in order to pick my children up, I think nothing of logging on outside of my contracted hours in order to complete a piece of work if needed.
So, how much longer can employers afford to overlook the benefits of providing the flexibility needed by so many working parents?
Debbie Lovewell-Tuck
Editor
@DebbieLovewell
