What does flexible working mean to you? Share with Mumsnet Talent - £300 TK Maxx voucher to be won

[LucyBMumsnet]

As a parent you often have to juggle seemingly never-ending responsibilities, meaning flexible working becomes a crucial requirement when looking for a job. And it's not just parents who suffer — a lack of flexibility can be detrimental to anyone with care responsibilities, outside commitments or disabilities of their own.

That’s why Mumsnet Talent is dedicated to making parents' lives easier by promoting flexibility in the workplace. We believe it's possible to have a career without compromise, with a job that supports your lifestyle instead of dictating it. That's why every role we host is flexible or home-based, and why we strive to represent every sector and every level.

As champions of flexible working, we’d like to hear what flexible working - outside of times where employers have no choice - means to you. Do you have a flexible job right now? What form does flexible working take? Perhaps it’s a job share or part-time hours? Maybe it’s the ability to work from home regularly or flexi-hours so you’re able to drop your children off at school? What elements of ‘flexible working’ are most appealing to you?

Whatever flexible working means to you, share it on the thread below and you’ll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 TK Maxx voucher (to be spent in TK Maxx or Homesense).

If you're looking for a new job, look no further than Mumsnet Talent. Sign up here and explore more than 3,000 flexible roles currently waiting for your application.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

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My job doesn’t allow for it but wfh when possible and time to go to appointments when necessary. Some doctors appointments are hard to get and I need to take them when I can rather than outside of working hours.

For the first time in 25 years of NHS service, I am working from home.

Coronavirus has forced us to work remotely, and redesign services to accommodate this. And whilst it's not realistic in the long term (without reducing the quality of care), it's a fantastic opportunity for us to demonstrate that it can work.

Hopefully in the future, I could combine working from home with going in to my workplace.

This will hopefully change the working culture of presenteeism & allow us to balance home & family life with work in a much better way.

I think it will change the way we all work.

In my current job I work 4 days in the office and 1 at home from 0830-1600, totalling 28 hours. I then have 7 flexi hours that I work whenever I need to over the course of the week to bring me up to full-time hours (35 at this company). My role is international so there are quite a few late night or early morning conference calls taking up these hours. It’s a brilliant arrangement that means I can take my kids to and from wraparound school care and recognises the world I do outside of office hours.

Similarly, I offer my own team flexibility. They can work from home one day a week and choose their own start and finish times to fit their schedules and preferences. I’m also very relaxed about them taking time to attend medical appointments, kids’ assemblies etc. and make up the time later. I actively recruit PT staff with school-friendly working hours.

If you’re in a back-office role like mine where exact times don’t matter then it’s possible to do that. Obviously there are other jobs that can’t be flexible on times or WFH but can be flexible in other ways, like job-shares or PT working.

Ultimately, I see flexible working practices as treating employees like grown ups. As long as the work is done and to a high standard then my expectations focus on that rather than on the exact time of day that people are in the office. In return, I have a dedicated, loyal team who appreciate working for a company that enables them to work in a fulfilling role without sacrificing family life. By offering flexibility, I find that I can recruit and retain talented team members who would otherwise have left the workforce to focus on family responsibilities. This goes for staff with children MF for those with caring responsibilities towards elderly parents. So winners all round really.

Flexible working to me means having the autonomy to organise my workload as I see fit. Also engendering trust with higher management and your colleagues that everyone's commitments outside of work differ and present themselves in different forms and at different pinch points - in the day, week or time of year.

Flexible working = get your hours done, but when you fit them in is up to you as long as you turn up for meetings you're needed at etc. Benefits being you can finish early to go to sports day (not that anyone's going anywhere right now), dentist appointments, house viewings, whatever, as long as the time's made up. It only works for some roles though, so it is a luxury at that. I'm lucky I just need a computer and an internet connection to get my job done, I'm not customer facing, or shift-working, or doing a manual role.

Flexible working means wfh 1 day a week and as needed, an understanding that family and other commitments exist and need to be accommodated, but now importantly being trusted to do the job and that being the focus of the role rather than the number of hours actually during at the desk. Flexible working to me and in my job means being allowed to juggle all my responsibilities at home and at work.

Flexible working to me is about focusing on the outcomes rather than the ways or times in which people work. If I deliver what is required of me, to time and to the satisfaction of managers, customers or others in my team, then the time or location of working become irrelevant.
There is a 'but' - in that part of work is about being present enough to deal with the urgent, or the wider people management aspects of a job, but a significant part of my job can be completed remotely and outside of core hours.
Very mindful, of course, that this is the luxury of a professional office-based job and that for many (including almost all of those with the most important jobs in society) there are no options for flexible working .

Flexible working fundamentally involves employers trusting employees, and employees being able to triage and prioritize successfully. Without both of those it doesn’t work well.

Being able to have flexibility in my working hours and being able to do some work from home.

@BackforGood Hi, just to clarify how measured homeworking works for me, I process Council Tax reduction and review forms, and have a 'virtual in-tray' of scanned forms. I can tap into the in tray and process the forms, I have a laptop with a secure portal. As long as I meet my targets and accuracy (which is sample checked) my output is accurate, my targets are met, and whilst I am WFH in the lockdown, I can work around family. I suppose I am lucky (but the job can be boring)

I am WFH, for the first time, and can I say, you need the correct equipment, I have been given a laptop (I use laptop which connects to a screen at work), and a mobile phone (the old nokia type) which is worse than useless. A health pandemic was always at the top of our corporate business continuity plan - with high risk and low probability ....... but the consequences are - I am home educating and working flexibly - so put my out of office when I am unavailable, and spending time being mum, cook, teacher, cleaner, on-line shopper (looking for a free slot ANYWHERE) .
The appealing points of flexible working would be ...... good communication with your manager - good equipment - laptop and screen, smartphone and the ability to work when I can around family and home - and to make up any hours lost at a later date.

For me flexible working includes part time hours and this being accepted as a norm that doesn't hold you back from progression and responsibilities at work.
I am able to work from home when I need to and do the school run when it fits in with work obligations. And again it's not challenged - it's accepted that you will get your work done in the hours which are flexed sometimes around other obligations and events.

Flexible working to me is not having to work 9am to 5pm.

Having the flexibility to work flexi hours as long as you are fulfilling all requirements would be great.

For me, flexible working means being able to arrange my work day around deadlines and work commitments. It means being expected to get the work done on time and be available when required whether I choose to work normal hours or for my work around my other commitments. It means being treated with respect and treating my role with respect.

In my role I am able to do the admin/report writing side of my role either from home or in the office. I plan my days to reduce travelling at rush hour i.e. schedule a meeting/appointment for 10 and work from home til I need to set off, or have a meeting finish so I can work from home at the end of the day and be in time for the nursery pick up. It was very easy to set up working from home, probably aided by 'hotdesking' in the office anyway. I do think that in my company the flexibility allowed varies between managers. There are clear policies in place but my manager is very flexible above and beyond this and generally takes the stance that as long as our calendars are kept up to date and the work is done she is happy for us to work in ways that suit. Ideally I'd like to find a new job (slightly different role, slightly higher grade) but the flexibility my current manager gives would make it very hard to leave

The possibility of Part-time and a regular wfh arrangement. Flexi-hours that allow you to do the school run (eg work 7-3, or 10-6). Most flexihours are very limited. Even better are the companies that have a timesheet where you log your hours and can do shorter or longer days as needed to balance the demands on your time

In my role I have some set work hours for weekly client contact time and I work the rest of my full time hours around that. I work on flexi time and as long as I ensure my contractual hours and appointments are met, I can choose to work from home or from the office for admin and development work. I do need to visit a work base for office resources when necessary but I can choose a location closest to me. I don't have an office at home but I do have a work phone and laptop to work remotely so I can carry out my job from different locations including home.
Other than client contact time I also need to be available to attend various (pre-planned) mandatory work meetings, conferences and training once or twice a month. Apart from that, I am able to work my contracted hours over the working week as and when I need to. I can collect children from school most days and work from home from 3.30 which is so helpful. I would really struggle to afford childcare after school to work full time in a set days/ usual office hours job.

Flexibility to me means employers being much more focused on setting long and short term goals for their employees so that set hours are no longer required and wfh is natural.

Flexible hours, working from home to avoid a long commute and, most importantly, the trust and understanding that tasks will be completed to a high standard and by deadline - regardless of when/where it's carried out and how long it takes.

Not working 9-5 mon-fri in an office. Having the freedom to WFH or office based as needed, and working hours to suit the business but also able to work out of core hours to suit childcare. Not needing to use holiday if a child is poorly but instead making up the hours

Being able to work flexible hours is a must for me now, I don't think I could ever go back to a strict 9 - 5 job.
Flexible hours allows me to work around the school run and other school commitments (e.g.. attending school assemblies). If I want to start a bit later or finish a bit early I can, I just make up the yours another time.
I'm also allowed to work from home sometimes too which is a big help (E.g.. if the car is being serviced).

My brilliant former boss summed it up when she said I should be able to go to work when I had the time. In the end I had a contract for 9.30-2.30 term time. I could see our kids to school, be there at the end of the day and had school holidays off. There was flexibly within that too, so start time between 7.30am-10.30 and finish any time after 1pm. Time worked over my standard five hour day could be used for a day off a month. It was perfect for my kids and enabled me to help out lots of friends in the holidays too. The work was in admin and the pattern tied in with the cycle of the business. I changed to two and a half days to gain promotion which didn't happen!

My company is excellent and willing to discuss all requests. For me it is the option to wfh, change hours to accommodate childcare, and the ability to take unlaid leave if necessary.

I’m a remote worker and do a nine day fortnight. That means my base is my home and any time out of my home is considered travel for work and paid accordingly. It also means I can take every other Monday off as I work my set hours over 9 days instead of 10.

However, my workplace allows many other permutations of Flexible working hours included term time only and school pick up hours. As long as job objectives are met, just about anything can be considered regarding how and when we work.