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My Family Care asks Linda: With the increase of flexible working - and the increase in technological advancements - the lines between work and family time can become blurry. Do you successfully keep work inside work hours so you can concentrate on family time, or do you run both in parallel, in successful ways? And if so, how?
Technology and flexible working
It has never been easier - or harder - to work in a "smart" or "flexible" way. Technological advances are the friend - or enemy - of the worker who has conflicting and competing demands on his or her time.
Everyone with over 6 months' service with an organisation now has a legal right to apply to work flexibly. This can only be turned down if the organisation can show a good business case for refusing. The use of technology will inevitably form an increasing part of our daily working lives, especially if we want to work in a flexible way, so how can we harness the benefits to our advantage rather that to our detriment?
Work ends - home begins
The approach that we take as to whether we compartmentalise our home and work lives, or blend them, is a very personal thing. I know that it drives me nuts when I see my husband constantly on his phone checking emails, even after a 14 hour day in the office. There has to be some down time and reintegration into home life to ensure personal sanity, and that the family engages as a whole on a daily basis.
And it's my feeling that, if we show that we are online and available without limits, then that becomes the expectation and is a self-perpetuating cycle. It becomes normal and accepted practice that, whenever an email is sent or call made, it will receive immediate attention. Home life becomes eroded and takes a constant second place.
It is interesting to see that the French government is planning to legislate to prohibit workers from responding to emails outside of normal working hours, recognising the stress and pressure this causes.
What about remote working?
But I also recognise, as someone who works in a flexible way, that I am able to do so thanks to technology. I can be working remotely, around the needs of clients, but also around my domestic responsibilities and commitments. I can keep my domestic boundaries protected but ensure that I am also delivering on my work commitments at a time that suits me.
For me, the successful combination of flexible working with omnipresent technology, is being really clear about what needs to be done and by when, whilst managing expectations for everyone involved.
It involves relationship management, both at home and in the workplace. By having clear and realistic expectations on all sides - and being very organised around my diary so that I schedule in everything that I have on my agenda on a daily, and weekly, basis - I feel in control and less beholden to my iPhone.
Family time > checking emails
For me, technology is there to enhance what I do and the way in which I do it, not to take over my life on all fronts. So I do monitor my emails regularly when I am at home. But I will avoid doing so at important family times; dinner preparation, meal times, when the kids are showing signs of wanting to chat. Always engage with a child who is in the mood to talk; no work email can take priority! Call me old fashioned, but when someone in front of me wants to talk to me, nothing is more important or more rewarding.
Linda Spink, Executive, Leadership and Maternity Coach
