Finding a decent flexible working job is a subject close to our hearts as working mums:
Lisa had taken the concept of flexible working a little too literally
Over the years, as a working mum myself and from research I’ve done for my clients, I’ve been frustrated at how little information there is on finding a decent flexible working job. If you’re willing to take any old job, or you don’t mind earning peanuts, then you can get a flexible working job relatively easily. However, if you’re a professional working mum, you’ve got a mortgage to pay or exorbitant childcare costs, it’s not quite so straightforward. There’s little point in taking a job that doesn’t even pay for childcare, just because it’s got the label “flexible working”.
The following tips are a distillation of the ideas that I have brainstormed and discussed with many of my working mum clients over the years. You won’t find the perfect formula for finding a flexible working job and some or all of the tips will be things you will already know.However, I hope that, by taking a “coach approach” to sharing these ideas and tips, there might be a little gem that will help you if you’re feeling that flexible working is an impossible dream.
This is part one of a two parter, with tips 6-10 coming in next Friday’s blog. If you are a working mum who has managed to negotiate flexible working or you have found a decent position that has given you the flexibility you want, I’d really like to hear your stories and I know that there are MANY other women who would also value hearing your success. Please share them in the comments section below!
- Decide what you want and what’s the right “shape” of flexible working for you and your family. This sounds obvious but you’d be surprised at how many working mums find themselves in a flexible work pattern what they thought would work, but doesn’t actually suit them. Get clear on exactly what YOU mean by “flexible” as there are a multitude of options and don’t assume that you know all those options. Do your research and cross check your flexible working wish list with your personal and professional values. E.g. if you have a value of connecting with people, then you won’t be happy working every single day from home and you’ll need to build in some way of networking or meeting people.
- Don’t fall into the trap of under-selling and under-valuing yourself and applying for jobs that are well below your skills, experience and salary range, just because they are advertised as “flexible”. Why? Because you’ll end up more stressed and unhappy than if you’d taken a full time, non flexible job that you enjoy. We all know there are many unsatisfying flexible working jobs out there with low pay. Create your vision of what you want and be dogged in your determination to get it!
- Understand what you can and can’t ask for and expect within the confines of the law. E.g. In the UK, parents with children under 17 have the right to request flexible working, but they don’t have the right to flexible working per se. If you’re in the UK, you can check out at www.direct.gov.uk for the latest position on flexible working and your rights for requesting.
- Go for the low hanging fruit and just ask! The best place to start your flexible work search is your existing company. Workingmums.co.uk found that 47 per cent of mums don’t talk about flexible working with their bosses, despite 83 per cent wanting to return to work with more flexible hours. I can give you several examples of women who have not thought to ask for a more flexible role, and who have been pleasantly surprised when they did pluck up the courage to ask. If you’re at breaking point with the constant commute or the long hours that you are working, you really have nothing to lose and everything to gain by simply asking.
- Research the sort of employer you want to work for. Check out best places for women to work lists and awards in both the UK and US, as these will give you an indication of how forward thinking a company is with regards to flexible working. Also check out Working Mums Top Employers’ Awards (www.workingmums.co.uk ) . Look for enlightened employers and what their policies are towards remote and flexible working. Who would you love to work for if you believed you could get the job? Go for it!
Above all, stick at it and don’t give up. You might think it’s an impossible dream, but I know it’s not – I’ve coached many working mums who have achieved their own flexible working ideal.
If you have managed to negotiate flexible working, or if you found a job you love AND you work flexibly, tell us your story in the comments section below and inspire another working mum!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Further to your 5th point above, I’d add targeting employers whose whole purpose is the baby, toddler, family market. Often founded by mums, you’re far more likely to find they employ flexible working mums themselves as they understand the predicament!
HI Amanda ,
I just wanted to share with you the flexible working arrangements I had before I left the corporate world. I was very lucky and my company were really flexible at the time and the arrangement worked and suited both of us.
it often works to sit down with a partner or friend and work out your logistics and be open to different ways of doing things.
After I went back after baby number 3, I worked 4 days per week 8.30 – 4.30. and agreed to work 1 Friday a month which I did not get paid for but took as extra holiday. the benefits were this
My hours meant I got to work before the rush hour started and home before the evening rush hour , thereby saving time on travel I was home by 5.30 most evenings.
By working 12 Fridays, and taking them as holiday , in a addition to holiday allocation , it meant that I could take more time off during school holidays. I got most half terms off, 1 week at Easter and 3 weeks in the summer as well as most of xmas holiday.
If there were weeks at work where they needed me for something in particular, i could play the Friday card!
As you said, its important to work out what means ” flexible” for you but also be respectful of your organisations needs too.
when i tell people about how I worked out a flexible option , most people haven’t thought of this combination. Thats why I thought it might be useful to share.
Goof luck to bendy working !
Claire
Claire, thanks so much for sharing this. It’s a brilliant example of how creativity is key when thinking about flexible working and I hope that if there’s a mum reading this page, she’ll be inspired by your arrangement. I have never come across this particular set up before, which goes to prove the point about how many different “shapes” of flexible work patterns are possible when you get creative and flexible yourself. Fabulous!
Thanks for such great advice! I definitely agree it’s easy to undersell yourself for the promise of flexible working, especially if you’re going back to work after some time off. And Claire, what a brilliant example of flexible working!
Thanks for stopping by Fiona!