As a working mum, life can become a little hectic once maternity leave comes to an end. This is to be expected isn’t it? Who am I kidding, it can be an absolute nightmare! Balancing work commitments with family life is difficult but for some, regaining our professional independence is really important too. 

Is there a way to transition back to work in a more supportive way? Yes there is. Flexible working is a real game changer. It provides the physical and emotional space required to balance work commitments with family life as you find your feet again.

As a business owner I offer flexible working hours as standard practise for all my employees and there’s a reason for this. I’ve been on the other side. The stressful one where the pressure of trying to work full time and parent became an overwhelming challenge that forced me into making some tough decisions.

But wouldn’t it be nice to remove those tough decisions? Why does it need to be a coin toss between settling back into your role in the workplace and continuing to support your family? There are so many mums out there who would love the opportunity to reenter the world of work but cannot find the right position. The part time jobs out there don’t always match their qualifications and the cost of childcare often becomes a huge financial barrier as well.

Wouldn’t it make so much sense to ease mums back into the workplace after maternity leave? To offer part time working hours? A bit of flexibility! Would it be completely unreasonable to take your child into work for a few hours if needs be?

I’ve reflected deeply on my own experiences as a working mum and turned it into something positive. The lessons learnt have shaped my business values and created a supportive working environment for my team and myself.

But What Is Flexible Working?

Flexible working is about trust. I trust my team to manage their work load. If you come into work later than usual, because you have an appointment or you’ve had a stressful morning with the kids, having flexible working arrangements in place removes the pressure. There’s no need to panic and rush around. You make up the time in the evening or the next day. Maybe your child is unwell so you work from home, not a problem. That stress is removed. You get to be the parent and work remotely at the same time.

At Established By Her flexible working is one of our core values. And not just for the parents on the team either. It’s open to everyone because we all have our own individual needs. Our set hours are 10am till 2pm. These are the times we hope to be in the office together and we build the flexibility around it.

Working in a creative industry like Digital Marketing, it is essential for us to spend quality time in the office together. We enjoy brainstorming sessions and planning social media strategies for clients in a face-to-face setting. We really thrive off being in the same room and bouncing ideas off one another. But does that mean we cannot work remotely if necessary? Does this mean meetings must be rearranged? No. Flexible working means flexible thinking. You learnt to adapt to changing situations and continue to produce the work in a variety of different ways.

Work-Life Balance: A Done For You Service

Work-life balance is so important. We need to feel supported in the workplace so we can achieve great things. To be part of amazing projects and see results. But being able to step away from our work roles and be present with our families is also essential. Some of our clients really struggle with this. Small business owners are constantly trying to push forward and develop their brand. But Digital Marketing and social media management is often the missing element they feel holds them back. They can never allocate enough time to create the right content and consistently engage with their online community. This is why we offer a ‘done for you service.’

We help take that responsibility away so you can find that work-life balance. Want to know more? Got any questions? Please fill out the contact form and we will be in touch.