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

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

I think it depends on the job. If your able to choose your hours to work around your children but obviously have to work X many hours a week.
Or if it's a customer demand job & you can't choose your own hours then I think you just need a good working understanding with your manager but obviously this doesn't mean you can't take libertys!!

I have adult children living with me, so am not in your demographic probably. I am senior management also.
I started a new job a month ago. I met my boss in person once before lockdown. We are both doing well; he asks, and I deliver, just charging my hours whenever they occur.This is my first freelancing role, and we are both appreciating the freedom to avoid presenteeism, in a usually, extremely corporate environment. I so wish this had been available when I had little children. I truly hope that companies will now trust us to do our best, and work life/balance will change for the better, having to rely on their peoples goodwill and commitment. It should not be taken for granted, if they want to keep people.

for me it means compressed hours and the ability to do the odd shift from home

Flexible working means that I can work around my family, longer hours in term time, and shorter hours during school holidays. We can all be more productive if we are happy in our jobs.

At my workplace we do have the ability to work from home sometimes. But it’s not something we can do very often depending on our job role.
I believe employers need to be more understanding of their employees who are pregnant and have kids. When I work flexibly I won’t be worrying about my kid which will help me to be more focused on my work. If employees meet the work standards and perform well in their job while working in flexible hours, employers should encourage them to offer working flexibly managing their kids and work.

Being able to work from home. Being able to decline calls during drop off and pick up. But make up for time evenings and weekends. My boss being understanding to me. And me being understanding to those I manage.

Having an employer who trusts me to make minor amendments to my day to help me cope with all the surprises life throws at you. Being able to take the dog to the vet, or see my DS play a football game.
The ability to work from home on occasion is invaluable, i end up being more productive if I am less stressed.
As I’m trusted I end up repaying that by working all my hours and usually more!

To me it would mean the option to WFH at times and working core hours but not during '9-5'

Flexible hours over the month as long as contracted hours are fulfilled.
The opportunity to WFH if and when necessary.

I'm very fortunate in that my employer has always been very flexible & never appreciated this more than after having my son!!
Provided my work is done to a high standard, that I am contactable by phone during my contracted hours & my whereabouts are recorded - I am able to manage my own start/finish times.
This is so important when having a child - there are always lots of school events on which I would have had to miss/use A/L for if I had to be in the office 9-5 M-F but I'm able to start later/finish early & catch up on work in the evenings when he is in bed.
It makes a huge difference to my work/home life balance.

I’m a nurse & a single parent work are great I get to work my ex days off and they are flexible with me so I can go to appointments with my youngest son. I can’t work from home but do make sure all my Cpd is done and I’m up to date on all courses etc

My employer rolled out flexible working in January. This means we can work from anywhere (and were given the right tech to do so). I often work from home or from the library near my DCs school as our school commute is about 30 mins. Flexible working also means we can work any hours we choose, so I no longer need wrap around or holiday care. We no longer need to log our hours either but this does mean we can't collect time in lieu. We still need to work every contracted day, but as this could literally be in another country and only for an hour a day (as long as it's made up at other times and the business bed is met), I don't mind losing time in lieu.

It's pretty brilliant really but a lot of people moaned about moving over!

For me it means feeling you can achieve a good work life balance, working different hours, working from home, etc. and feeling you can take advantage of the flexible working policy without being judged.

It is not having a flexible working policy on paper so that HR can tick the boxes while at the same time making it difficult for employees who want to work flexibly.

Flexibility between the employer and employee so that the needs of both are met. But not just to cover school runs but to be also to attend sports days etc or go into school to help listen to the children read

The lockdown has proved that we can work from home and successfully meet deadlines. My workplace does allow us to work from home but managers can have discretion to ask team members to come in to the office minimum 1 or 2 times a week. Whilst I don’t mind this myself it does mean we are not allowed to work from home permanently which is frustrating as we can do the job from home and attend meetings online. The reasons given are that we need ‘coverage’ in the office so that people have someone to ask queries to in our team - the bums on seat thing some people have mentioned. In reality our team hardly get queries and if we do, they can be emailed. Customers don’t complain wherever we are working from (I work in publishing). But I think another issue is that it can be quiet in the office if nobody from the team is in and therefore not nice for the person in the office who has nobody to talk to! Again personally I don’t mind if sometimes I am the only one in the office as I seem to get loads more work done then! But not everyone feels the same. Flexible working is great but managers have to try and keep everyone happy.

Do you have a flexible job right now?

It was not before lockdown, I am a supermarket worker, who worked fixed shifts, but now am able (after requesting) have the ability to work flexibly around my partner and family, I work 4 am to 8 and 8 til 12 - and it seems to work.

What form does flexible working take?

Requesting shifts 2 weeks in advance, where I have a choice of hours - which is great - there is also a flexibility of overtime - to cover last minute changes.

Perhaps it’s a job share or part-time hours?

It's shifts decided 3 weeks in advance - 30 hours a week.

Maybe it’s the ability to work from home regularly or flexi-hours so you’re able to drop your children off at school?

it's the ability to bring money into the household and fit in with family life.

What elements of ‘flexible working’ are most appealing to you?

A work pattern that fits in with family personal and is planned in advance.

thank you and stay safe

Being able to work from home, the ability to work through lunch so that drop off or pick up is possible

Flexible working allows me to be in more control of my life which definitely makes me happier!

As an employee my company supported my entrepreneurial endeavours and allowed me to work full time but over a 4 day condensed period instead of 5 days, this allowed me to work on my new business on one day a week. This was agreed after I'd worked there a number of years.

After I became pregnant I was made redundant however this allowed me to then set myself up as self employed.

So now I enjoy a huge amount of flexibility. It allows me to see all the kids school plays / assemblies etc. It allows me to have dental / doctor appointments whenever I want. It also gives me the opportunity to set my agenda and have days off if I feel like it.

I don't think I would be without flexible working ever again!

Not having to have to fight to get hours that fit around your family or make changes to those hours if something isnt working. Reasonable adjustments. Not being penalized because your kids ill or you loose child care for whatever reason, last minute. Not having to sacrifice time with your family, accepting hours that are unsuitable or that mean you or your family suffer but thats the only option you have

Managing people to deliver on time, to cost and quality standards. Developing their skills to estimate how long things take to do and also to manage the inevitable deviations to the plan.

Trusting people to do their very best, to support others and to quite straightforwardly ask for help and accept when they need it. Providing the environment in which they can succeed.

Not relying on number of hours worked, or even number of hours spent at the allocated desk, as any sort of useful metric.

Hot desking may not be popular but it does significantly reduce the fixed costs of running an office, especially in prestige locations, as well as encourage people to get the necessary work done wherever they happen to be.

Flexible employers are not just those who can offer part time, but able to be flexible if something changes in their employee's lives, change again.

Often employees will present full solutions, not just a problem to an employer, yet still can't be changed.

This time is showing how many jobs can be done in different patterns and from home. It will be interesting how many employers will accept flexibility is possible afterwards or will go back to the same "we've always had someone doing X job from Aam to Bpm, sat at Y desk in the office, so that's how it's going to be."

Flexible working for me is being able to choose your hours and location if you have the option of several including WFH.

The benefits for me definitely are the fact that you can choose your own hours and be with your kids when you need to be.

For me it would be an employer who is empathetic to the fact you are a parent and this sometimes requires a level of flexibility. I ended up leaving my last role due the the sighs or tuts when one of my children needed to be collected due to illness.

My job is very flexible in many ways, not so much in others. I work from home but travel to all sorts of places for meetings/events. I largely control my diary, so if I know in advance when a nativity play or similar is I can usually ring fence the time to be able to be there. Short notice stuff is much harder. The flip side is I work a lot of evenings (and have less control over when those are) which makes for some tight turnarounds and not always being able to go to school things in the evening.

Being trusted to fit in what I need to when I can is important, as is the understanding that if my child is ill I'm going to have to deal with that (albeit shared with a husband who can work with some degree of flexibility if there's something I absolutely can't miss).