No flexibility , back from mat leave

[EllaWt]

Hi Everyone - i am based in London and i work in a field that has historically had no flexibility at all (finance). The came covid and for 3 years we all did WFH on some level and it was great. By our management's measurements productivity didn't decrease, well being increased etc. 6 months ago our management (based in the sticks in the US, obviously all male and mostly white) has decided that we should all be back 5 days a week with zero flexibility. Every one here in London is gutted but all of my colleagues are men and primary breadwinners so its hard for them to fight back. Im coming back from mat leave in September and cant face going to the office full time. I've tried everything, our HR doesn't care, no one seems to notice that flexibility or lack thereof is a huge impediment to making our industry more diverse etc. I know I should find another job and I am looking but there's not many jobs available and i have been struggling to even get interviews. Does anyone have tips or advice about how to navigate my return? Im terrified.
I should mention i work in stock markets so high octane, male dominated, well paid for sure but honestly an hostile environment for anyone who has childcare responsibilities

Can you submit a formal flexible working request? Think what would work for you & them & submit the request to HR?

They have to formally consider it but whilst they may decline it, they could be on tricky ground due to discrimination if you're the only female with caring responsibilities, so they may accept your request to keep peace.

I would use your accrued annual leave to return to work 3 days a week for a couple of months at the start. You'll officially be full time and but will book the same 2 days off every week using holiday.

This will give you a chance to ease into it and think about what you want. Read up on the policies while you're there and you can then apply for flexible working following the formal process.

Are there any other women you can connect with in the workplace who've been through similar. Definitely worth going for a coffee with them.

It sounds like you're trading, or at least working on the trading floor @EllaWt? I'm in IB and to the best of my knowledge, everyone on the floor (regardless of gender/race or anything else) is expected to be back in the office 5 days a week (due to regulatory / supervision requirements etc).

Is there another area other than stock market you can work in? My husband works in finance for an energy company and still mostly wfh x

I mean this in a kind way but surely not every job can be flexible. My sil works on the trading floor and is back commuting full time.

@HundredMilesAnHour @Stomacharmeleon yes trading floor but not on the banking side / more asset management / hedge fund and most of our peers still do WFH.
Im actually really surprised that everyone in banking just folded back into the grind with so little resistance except that it pays well and most of them are men with primary financial responsibilities but its sooo disappointing and underwhelming as flexibility would have been such am enabler of more diversity and less gender gap in our industry

@Jk987 there are literally no women with family. Were a super minority a few of them are very young and eager and then one or two bosses but theyre not supportive more like "we made it without any of it so suck it up"

Our asset mgt and wealth mgt traders are also back 5 days. We have a reasonable proportion of senior women, probably more than most organisations do and we're actually pretty diverse. Our various regulators don't want trading from home, and as an organisation we hold ourselves to a higher standard than our competitors (our risk / compliance etc depts are powerful and very conservative) so everyone was back full time as soon as it was feasible. That's the nature of the job so no-one was surprised.

I work in the same business. While I agree that wfh has faded fast it is a very fast paced job and like a pp i believe there are reg issues from working remotely. I second the suggestion that you use your holiday to shorten your weeks whilst you ease back in. Good luck.

Having researched this at length... There are actually not so many impediments from the regulatory perspective and working models can be adapted to make it work. Regulators don't love it for sure but again for firms making a huge amount of marketing on diversity efforts you'd wish they'd have the courage to cooperate, communicate and educate the same regulators that place DEI high on the list . Proof being that some of our peers do it. It does take creativity, technology, commitment and courage from those involved.
But I'm learning and some of the responses point to that (no offense at all i mean that with genuine understanding) that people tend to just fold to the easy/ known path and so do our decision makers. Perhaps We won't see material change in the course of my career. Sigh

I don't think people fold. It's not a family friendly career path and has never been sold as one. Your priorities have changed which is understandable.

@HundredMilesAnHour you're so right and that's exactly why i am so disheartened about it. I've been doing this for 15 years and i always assumed that once I have kids I will just do something else.. like so many women before me. Then came covid and suddenly it seemed that there was a way to make things a little bit better in this industry that oh so could benefit from more diversity (and not just gender) and we are collectively blowing it.

Maybe think about moving to a different organisation? @EllaWt Where I work the hours are still long and the pressure intense but we're actually pretty diverse. Certainly not lots of white men running the show, that's for sure. Yes, there are some (including the big boss) but we have a vast mixture of races and languages and backgrounds. We have plenty of non-white women in senior roles and they're there on merit rather than for appearances sake. For a while, almost my entire reporting line upwards was female (and every one of them was a different nationality). Some of them are just as brutal and uncompromising as their male peers but that's equality for you. 🙄

@HundredMilesAnHour yeah that's the plan, i hope i do soon!

@EllaWt having done the research use it to formally apply to WFH one or 2 days a week. Set out the regulatory requirements and your proposed changes in working practice. Ask for a 3 month trial so both you and employer can assess how it works. Add in the diversity angle of attracting more women, if you have a gender pay gap add that in.

Even 1 day a week such as a Wednesday, may make a difference to you and be feasible for your employer.

@Sisterpita oh yeah ive done all that but they dont care

@EllaWt sorry, the regulatory element means they can probably justify it at ET.

Any scope for part time? So no wfh but only in the office 3/4 days per week?