Liz Gregson on trying to achieve a balance in an ever demanding world
We speak a lot these days about work life balance - life is busy for us all as we endeavour to juggle our commitments inside and outside of work. These commitments can vary from looking after children to looking after elderly relatives and everything in between.
The role of women has changed significantly over the past 50 years, from being the primary carers to having careers and progressing to Board level in organisations. We report on gender pay gaps annually and are working hard to ensure the playing field is level for both men and women in the work place.
These social changes have given women far more choice in what they do, which is a good thing! However the lines are more blurred in the roles of men and women which can bring different issues to overcome.
With more women working full time sometimes getting the balance of life can be a challenge for men and women. This is a social issue that was partly addressed with the Government introducing Parental leave. This policy applies to both mothers and fathers and enables employees who have completed one year’s service to take up to 18 weeks unpaid parental leave for each child.
My eldest son is doing his GCSEs this summer and my father is unwell so I have decided to take four weeks parental leave, to prioritise my commitments at home for a while. I’m looking forward to this time off with my family and hopefully enjoying some sunshine! I will be back on 17th June, just in time for our communications week, which I’m looking forward to!
We have many policies to support all our employees, so if in doubt, it’s always worth a conversation with your manager or HR.
For more information on our flexibility policies, including Timeware, flexible working requests and parental leave, take a look at WAT.
