80% of parents have changed their working pattern since having children. The main reason parent change the way they work is to spend more time with the family. Just over half of parents explained that their priorities have changes, while nearly 3 in 10 found that their work hours didn’t fit the childcare available, and 3 in 20 found that it was financially no longer worth working due to the cost of childcare. Overwhelmingly, parents are happy with the choice they have made. Not one respondent wished they had never resigned, while 4 in 10 say that is has been the best decision they ever made, and nearly 6 in 10 describe the experience as ‘hard at times but worth it’.

Only 43% of parents who responded are now employed with the rest self employed, seeking work, studying or taking a career break.  And only 17% are working full time. Director of mumandworking and Practical Parenting Business Parent of the Year 2007/08 Sam Willoughby says, “This shows how traditional employment patterns are no longer normal. The 2010 mumandworking awards which are supported by Sarah Beeny reward and recognise the companies and individuals that make flexible working possible and show that family-friendly employment not only supports family life but give real benefits to the companies involved.”

Changing the way you work after having children has a big financial impact – seven out of 10 families have seen a drop in income and for nearly half of those this reduction is between £10-£40k a year. Three in 10 feel they are financially ‘fine’, while four in 10 are ok most of the time but struggle sometimes. Nearly a quarter struggle financially more often than not, with just under one in 10 finding they never have enough money or even have serious debt problems.

Money is not the top priority for parents, however. When asked to list their top three priorities, time with the family came out first for a massive 17 out of 20 parents, while flexible hours were a priority for three in four. Seven in twenty prioritised how much they earn and three in ten prioritised job security. Career progression was a priority for just one in 10. Director of Family Friendly Working and Inspirational Mumpreneur of the Year 2009 Antonia Chitty says, “Employers need to take this message on board to attract and retain employees. I’m pleased to support the 2010 mumandworking awards that recognise outstanding companies and individuals who are committed to flexible and family friendly work.”

To enter the awards or nominate someone go to www.Mumandworking.co.uk. Nominations are open now and there are a range of exciting prizes for the winners.

Could you fill in  a survey about flexible work … and please pass this on to friends

Find the survey here

Many thanks
Antonia

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.

• Register as self employed within 3months of starting – contact the Inland Revenue to do this.
• Start records from day one. Note down each expense and every bit of income. It is FAR easier to update a little each day or week than to create accounts from a pile of receipts. You’ll save yourself money on bookkeeping or accounting fees too.
• Make a database of customer and client contacts. A good database of contacts makes it easy to work efficiently, will save you time, and can even get you more work.
• Know when to delegate. Everyone has weak areas and it can pay dividends to get help. There are lots of other freelance specialists who offer affordable services.
• Set some working hours. It is up to you whether you work best in the early morning or late at night, or have to fit work round the kids. Whatever you do, though, make sure you have some time off and shut the laptop.

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

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

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.

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.

If you find working from home an isolating experience a shared office is ideal. You get the buzz round the watercooler and the chance to chat to others. Do visit a few times to see the office in full swing, though, to find out whether you desk would be next to a loud sales person. And if freelancing is just the start of grand business ideas, you should incorporate the cost of an office, business rates, insurance etc into your plans.

In a feature based on a Unicef report on childcare, Geraldine Beddell says, “Many women look at the pay gap, at their own inclination to balance, at the impossibility of two parents being distracted most of the time, and choose to work part-time, or at any rate with less zealotry. And most parents manage to cobble something together that more or less works.”

She highlights the problem where most men are unwilling or unable to change their hours, leaving women with limited options. She also points out that, “The Unicef report is flawed in not taking into account informal, home-based, or neighbourhood childcare – grandparents, child minders, au pairs”.

Josephine Murray looks at the women who have been driven back to work to balance the bills. She quotes a study published last week by insurer Scottish Widows that claims the rising cost of living has forced more than 4 million mothers back to work, and passes on advice from child development specialist Amanda Gummer who suggests that it’s important to make the right choice for your family’s well-being. “If you’re stressed and fractious because you can’t afford to do the things you want to do then going back to work will be beneficial for the baby or children. If going back to work makes you stressed that’s not going to help them.”

If you’re in the position of needing to earn to stretch the family budget, have a look at www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk for some ideas and inspiration, or sign up for the free e-course to find out your rights to flexible work plus much more. Going back to work does not have to be traumatic, and there are way to avoid having to put your children in childcare 8-6.