A Parent's View:-
As I sit here with my laptop on one knee and a poorly toddler asleep on the other, it brings me to reflect on how fortunate I am in my role, with my company being so understanding and appreciating flexible working within the workplace.
Many parents 'struggle with the juggle' of work and childcare, especially in times of sickness and holidays. There is huge pressure on parents to find alternative childcare arrangements when their child isn’t well enough to attend their usual nursery or childminder setting. But also, when your child is unwell, they want to be comforted by you, which often results in being unable to go into work.
Some companies make life difficult for parents, adding pressure and further stress when these uncontrollable situations occur. Throughout the last 12 months or so I’ve seen many articles on ‘Flexible working’ and ‘Work/Life Balance’ purposely aimed at supporting parents, it’s been a popular topic. Today I scrolled through comments on LinkedIn sparking a debate on this subject which stemmed from a working mum having to leave her position due to lack of support and flexibility from her company.
In a previous survey carried out by Lucy Walker Recruitment, reports showed only 46% of employers within the Leeds and Manchester area offered some form of flexible working. This means that over 50% of companies do not accommodate for their employee’s needs.
According to the ACAS Flexible Working and Work Life Balance Survey ‘a poor balance between employee work commitments and their other responsibilities can lead to stress, high absence and low productivity’.
To ensure employers get optimum work output from their employees, to keep them engaged and loyal to the company, it is worth investing time into Flexible Working and Work/Life Balance schemes. Of course, these schemes not only apply to working parents but to the wider workforce who also have commitments and individual needs.
Christina Shiels
Here at Lucy Walker Recruitment we have been helping firms with their talent acquisition, and job seekers find their ideal roles for over 30 years. We have placed thousands of candidates and filled thousands of roles for our clients; if you want to find out how we can help you call us on 0113 367 2880 or email us here.