Tell CBI what you think employers could do for parents to make it easier to balance work and family life? £250 voucher to be won!NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

As part of The Great Business Debate campaign, The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) have asked us to find out what Mumsnetters think employers could do better to make it easier for parents to balance work and family life.

Here’s what CBI say, “The Great Business Debate is a CBI led campaign to help build public confidence in business.

"Only around half of people believe business makes a positive contribution to society and we want to play a part in increasing that figure. We are doing this by:
• Setting out the facts and combatting myths about what business does and the contribution it makes
• Encouraging people to give us their views on business and where it needs to do more
• Providing an opportunity for business to take part in a constructive conversation about what it does and how it does it

"As employees, our experiences of working life have a big impact on our view of business. Companies of all sizes rely on their people for success, and want to make use of the best talents available. But there is an ongoing debate about whether employers are doing enough to ensure parents – and especially mums – are supported to balance their family and work life, without having to sacrifice one for the other. We're sponsoring this discussion with Mumsnetters to hear your views.”

So, what do you think employers could do to make it easier for parents returning to work to find a balance between family life and work? Maybe you’d like more employers to encourage flexible working hours? Or perhaps to prioritise parents when employees request to have annual leave during school holidays? Whatever it is, we’d love to hear it!

Everyone who comments on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £250 Love2Shop voucher.

CBI are also hosting a round table event on this topic on Wednesday 26th November in Central London, which will be attended by business leaders and not-for-profit organisations, as well as Justine, our CEO. There are two places reserved for Mumsnetters also. If you’d be interested in attending then please PM me, we will then select two Mumsnetters at random.

Please note: Please be aware your anonymised comments may be re-used by the CBI on their websites, over social media and for broader PR purposes.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

[kel1981]

Allow both parents to access flexible working and share maternity leave

[12LuDo]

We strive for an Equal Opportunities environment, particularly in the work place. I feel this should apply equally to men as well as women. Women are still seen as the primary carer for their children, so if a child is sick, it's the mother who will always take time off to care for them and who will be responsible for childcare arrangements. So, it is harder for mothers to be taken seriously in the workplace because employers are aware they will bear the brunt if any childcare needs arise. If fathers were more able to take time off in these circumstances, the burden would be shared and there would be less impact on women's employability.

[flamingtoaster]

Flexitime and being able to work from home if a child was unwell. However, it all depends on the nature of the business and there are obviously businesses where flexitime etc. would just not work.

[hawkster]

I think they should offer flexitime, buy extra days holiday and offer carer's leave

[snare]

flexible hours

[mamof3boys]

Allow parents to work from home where possible.

[grannybiker]

Give Dad's the same benefits as Mums - parenting is a two-person job!

[grannybiker]

Should have read... "Much easier as a 2 person job!"

[tanyavt]

My employers are very understanding about my family situation- as long as I get my job done, they allow me a lot of freedom to choose my hours and work days to fit around my family.

[redstararnie76]

Allow more flexibility over working times.

[littlemisstrivia]

Allow home working or flexible hours

[casspuss]

crèches on site

[Tonkatol]

Whilst this may be controversial, I do feel sorry for the small employers. It is far easier for large companies to offer greater flexibility. However, I feel the greatest thing employers could do to help would be to allow more job share/flexible working positions. Working in a hospital environment, I see this all the time. It is often easy for nurses to work set days every week, thus finding it easier to get the work/home life balance and also often being able to work with husband/partner so that one can be at home whilst the other is out working, saving money on childcare. Additionally, there is the flexibility to work long shifts or short shifts. A long shift equates to 36 hours, so an employee would only need to work three long shifts per week to be able to fulfill a full-time contract. However, I recognise that this would not work for all employers.

[Pinklaa]

Allowing work from home

[embabes7]

Flexitime for when your child is ill - it's very difficult to drop everything, but at the end of the day - your children come first every time. They could be supportive of hours of work and acknowledging pick up/drop off times as well.

[donnamitchell]

Being more open to flexible working requests.

[thetav5]

flexible hours for both parents and an 'on site' creche would be amazing and something that works really well in other countries, even for older kids- you could pop out to do the school run and bring them back to the creche at work for a couple of hours…giving you flexibility in regards to childcare too.

[upthehammers]

the ability to work from home would always be a great help for when kids get sick unexpectedly etc
for me i need to try and find something a bit more term-time as now my eldest is in school it's going to be a nightmare affording childcare in holidays

[cristalfiona]

By being flexible, and allowing options such as working from home or working out of normal office hours

[sleepyhead]

There's no one-fits-all solution, but as many posters have already said, trusting your employees (and therefore your own ability to hire decent staff) to do their job well and care about their family. One doesn't exclude the other.

My employer is pretty family friendly, but I recognise that my particular role within the organisation helps with this (I don't need to be in a certain place at a certain time to do my job). I hugely value the fact that my boss trusts me to get the work done, and that if I need to be at home to look after a sick child, or start late, or finish early, she is fine with that and trusts my ability to balance the needs of the business and the needs of my family.

In return, I am loyal, I work over and above that which is expected of me, I come in early and work late when necessary, I swap my days off, answer emails from home on non-working days. It works both ways.

Things that employers could do to make things easier in general:

• come down hard on presenteeism - measure what's being achieved, which may have nothing to do with hours sitting at a desk. The game of who-can-sit-on-their-arse-the-longest will always be lost by those who need to balance their office/home time.
  

• seriously look at flexibility for all staff, not just parents. Where and when does the work have to be done? Can you achieve a better work/life balance for all your staff, thus reducing the stigma of parents working different patterns.

[myboycraig]

I must admit, I am very lucky to work an employer. I chose my working hours and it works for my family but if something is to crop up at last minute, there is no issues. My employer understands that my son comes first.
I am a very lucky mummy x

[lindsey3uk]

Allowing flexible working hours, as in if they need to start early and finish early etc make that possible.

[Drania]

Provide more opportunities for job shares & flexi time. My last position was a job share and worked brilliantly due to the support of other staff & HR.

[TribbleWithoutATardis]

I would say flexitime, being able to work from home occasionally and trying to accommodate flexible working requests. Let's face it, the baby stage is so short and for a bit of give and take employees are generally happier to go that extra mile. My last work were horrid about flexible working so I left. I was very heavily trained as well, so all that money effectively wasted.

[OwlCapone]

I think a lot of these things (eg flexitime/working from home) are things that should be offered to all employees regardless of whether they are parents. Many people would find that these provide a better work/life balance.