Call it work life ‘balance’ or ‘harmony’ or just life.

If it isn’t working for you…

You need to change things.

This post talks about HOW to change things.

Assumption 1 - You understand how you and your family feel.

If you’re not really sure then you must read this blog post first. It shows you how to assess your circumstances plus you’ll get some timely reminders about why it’s so important.

Assumption 2 - You have a problem with your current ‘balance’.

If everyone is happy then you don’t need to change anything.

✅We call it an ‘A’ in this blog post.

Assumption 3 - You believe it is possible to improve it!

If you don’t yet believe read how Dads like you have worked out their path.

Assumption 4 - You know your ‘WHY’

It’s a core principle that we teach:

✅ Talk honestly about what you truly want as a family.

a. How often do you want to be at home?

b. When do you want to be at home?

c. What does this mean for you?

d. What does it mean for your family?

Here’s a short video about Dads talking about what flexible working means to them.

✅ Know your options to achieve better work life balance

First up there’s a difference between ‘flexibility’ at work and proper work life balance.

Flexibility = taking time out from work to do life stuff.

Let’s include things like doctor’s appointments, emergency child care duties, working from home once a year to see the nativity performance.

For me this is just managing life.

For the purposes of this example, we’re going to assume a starting point of 40 hours - 9 til 5 pm

If you have others or a story to inspire than please do drop us a note!

⭐ your options to improve your work life balance ⭐

Core Hours with flexible hours outside of that.
A day or more working from home.
Leave early, log in at home later.
Flex start and finish times.
1. Early in, early home. 7am – 4pm
2. Late In, Late home. 10am – 7pm
Compressed hours - 5 days work ‘compressed’ into 4 days.
Home based working.
Part-time jobs – 4 days, 3 days, 2 days a week.
Job Share
Career change

HERE’S Some Inspiration…

Case study 1 - Flexi-time - with core hours

‘I exploit flexi-time in this area. I drop son off between 8:15 to 8:30 in order to get into the office for 9:00 am. I knock off early on Friday afternoon in order to collect son from nursery
Apart from core hours of between 9:30 and 4:30 tend to stay later twice a week to get out early or on time the rest of the week’.

Case study 2 - Flexi-time - with core hours

‘For me, it's all about flexibility and a credit to my employer, the kit they provide, and a boss who allows me to flex around work and childcare commitments.
My team and I keep core hours of 10am - 4pm, but flex around that to allow for earlier or later starts and finishes depending on life commitments.
And there's flexibility to work from home and/or catch up from home in the evenings if necessary. But it's all founded on trust and respect that it's all a balance... ‘

Case Study 3 - Compressed Hours

‘I do 10-2 pm Mon, normal hours on Tue , Weds and Thurs, Fri 10-2 pm ...so 4.5 days over 5. It worked really well. I got to set the week up well, work through Thursday with everyone and on Friday make sure everything wrapped up as well as could be.’

Case study 4 - Compressed Hours

‘10am - 4.30pm. This is to enable me to do nursery and school drop offs and pick ups.’

Case study 5 - 35 hours compressed into 4 days

‘I’ve been on 5 in 4 for the last 6 years. I had to cover off 8.75 hours a day.’

A note on compressed hours v 4 days

If you try and work part time, 4 days a week the reality is you're still going to work full time hours anyway, so go for 5 days worth of hours compressed into 4 days.

Your rights

Since 2014 everyone in the UK has had a right to request flexible working. Yes, you absolutely can ask!

Click here for a link to the UK Government press release.

Click here to find out about flexible friendly businesses.

There are clear rules that Employees and Employers must follow

Click here for a link on the rules on requesting flexible working.

Your plan

You need to consider a number of factors

Your boss’s potential attitude - how much do they trust you?
Your seniority - the more senior you are the more they want to keep you happy.
What are your remote tech options?
Meetings schedule
What have other people done? - most business it will be women who have achieved flexible arrangements.
Client expectations.
How much do you want it? What’s your why!

✅ Anticipate all their specific objections and address them.

✅ If you currently have team meetings at the start / end of the day, suggest that they can easily be moved.

✅ Accentuate the positives

✅ Say you'll be available at home for calls and emails if necessary during busy periods.