I’m speaking at an event in Westminster next month about flexible work, and am currently doing some research for it.
Could you fill in a survey about flexible work … and please pass this on to friends
Many thanks
Antonia
I’m taking part in a webchat about flexible work and working from home over on iVillage tomorrow, Wed 28 April from 12.30 . Come over and post your questions here: http://messageboards.ivillage.co.uk/iv-ukwkworkhome/?ctx=131072
If anyone knows how to juggle, Julia Hobsbawm does. As she says on her website, she is a mother, step-mother, wife, daughter, sister, sister-in-law, friend, cousin, niece, and businesswoman. The See-Saw is a guide to ‘inspire and reassure you that you can get your work-life balance on track.’
The book covers topics including flexibility, childcare, me-time, flexibility and guilt. It also looks at the ‘Dammy’, or stay at home dad: Julia’s partner Alaric has been taking this role for many years, allowing her to operate a busy full time business. It is up-to-date, written in the Summer of 2008.
Hobsbawm does her best to make The See-Saw applicable to people without children, featuring a few case studies, but basically it is a guide for parents to sorting out work life balance. The book has something of a flavour of privilege about it, despite including some people in ‘ordinary’ jobs there are many more high flying parents like Hobsbawm herself. More ordinary mums may be slightly irritated by the inclusion of Julia’s pals, Julia, a Rabbi, Antonia, a leader writer and ‘old friend’ Rosie Boycott in the space of a few pages.
Amusing cartoons and recipes break up the book. There is a good mix of views from men and women. It is easy to read – I managed to get through it quite quickly despite being 37 weeks pregnant, so in that way is ideal for time pressed parents. Overall it is a pleasant read, but you could probably get just the same tips by sitting round with a group of friends who are also juggling working parents.
The See-Saw (paperback) Published January 2009. 176 pages. ISBN: 978 1 84354 911 6. RRP: £6.99
Have you always wanted to become a writer? Or would you like to run a community magazine, or create a buzzing website? Check out www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk every day from the 1st of March for fabulous profiles from mums working in the media. All the mums work freelance or flexibly to fit with the family and there are some really inspiring stories.
PS Don’t forget the competition to win a bundle of Essential Business Books ends midnight today.
Over half of new mums would like to run their own business, and the number of mumpreneurs is growing daily. If you want to start your own home business, here are some pointers from Antonia Chitty, author of Family Friendly Working, to get you going:
Good luck with your new enterprise.
If you want to work as a freelancer and have young children you will need a double dose of dedication to your work, as you will have more obstacles to deal with. Before starting out on a freelancer career, decide what you want out of life and make sure your work fits in with it. Think about how you wil balance client deadlines and sick kids or broken nights. You may find yourself working late into the night after the day has not gone as planned. Small children do not always understand when ‘mummy is working’ or ‘daddy has to get this finished right now’.
I get a big buzz out of my work: I love seeing clients’ news being covered in the media or my books in print, and really enjoy the great variety of work I do. If I didn’t have a passion for it, it would be very hard to stay motivated. In a lot of ways my work is a far more tangible thing than raising children: the visible outcomes are easier to measure, so it makes a nice balance. I found it incredibly hard having 6 months of maternity leave after the birth of my daughter: just thinking about feeds, nappies and baby groups wasn’t enough. With my third child on the way I really value the chance to balance work and family in the way I want.
I’ve been working for myself for a number of years now, and there are a few things that I am glad I knew from the start, while others I have learnt along the way.
Antonia Chitty is author of Family Friendly Working(www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk), A guide to Promoting Your Business (www.prbasics.co.uk) and a number of other parenting and health books. She has a book on earning a living from writing, The Commercial Writing Guide coming out in July 2009. You can find out more about her own freelance writing career at www.antoniachitty.co.uk and her PR business at www.acpr.co.uk
The New York Times has reported on a woman who, instead of taking maternity leave, has set up a room for her children next to her office. The paper reports Carla Moquin, the founder of the Parenting in the Workplace Institute, as saying, “This has been going on for 15 years in a limited fashion, but in the last two years it’s really taken off.”
Mothers in the US are only entitled to three months unpaid maternity leave, which I can see would encourage women to look at this sort of solution. One business mentioned in the article, “Borshoff, a communications firm in Indianapolis with 40 employees, has a Bring Your Baby to Work program for infants ages 6 weeks to 6 months. The firm pays 80 percent of an employee’s full salary when the child is in the office.” Having reduced pay may be an accurate reflection that parents with a baby in tow will spend less time working, but also reduces the incentive to go through what seems to be a stressful scheme.
For more – and probably better – ideas on how to combine work and family, visit www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk
One of the great upsides of freelancing is that you can drop everything if you need. Sick children, neighbours who have locked themselves out – everyone will think that you can drop what you are doing and help. Trouble is, you then end up working into the small hours to catch up. It can be hard to set aside time for holidays too, when a break from work equals no income. With practice you will work out a way to be around for the family without letting your work slip too far: after all, that is one of the benefits of freelancing.
Antonia Chitty is author of Family Friendly Working (www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk), A guide to Promoting Your Business (www.prbasics.co.uk) and a number of parenting and health books. She has a book on earning a living from writing, The Commercial Writing Guide coming out in July 2009. You can find out more about her own freelance writing career at www.antoniachitty.co.uk and her PR business at www.acpr.co.uk.
It was all so different when you were employed. Now you’re master of your own time, time management is key. One of the big ups of freelancing in the chance to take time off during the week, to go for a swim when the pool is at its emptiest or meet a mate for a long lunch. However in order to do this AND have money to pay for the treats you need to plan ahead. Work out how much you need to earn each month to pay your bills and have spending money. Allow for tax and National Insurance too. You might wonder what this has to do with time management….but time is money. Your income will depend on the hours you put in. It may take a while to work out how much work you need to do to earn the amount you need to live, and it can take time to build up enough good contacts to have a ready flow of commissions too. You may spend more time pitching or generating business in the early stages so try to have some cash in reserve.
Antonia Chitty is author of Family Friendly Working (www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk), A guide to Promoting Your Business (www.prbasics.co.uk) and a number of parenting and health books. She has a book on earning a living from writing, The Commercial Writing Guide coming out in July 2009 . You can find out more about her own freelance writing career at www.antoniachitty.co.uk and her PR business at www.acpr.co.uk.