Are You ‘Flexible Working’ Ready?

Scenario 1: You went to university, did a graduate placement, worked your way up the career ladder, took a step back to have a family and now you want to return at senior level with flexibility, but don’t quite know how.

Scenario 2: You went to university, did a graduate placement, worked your way up the career ladder, the demands of the role have changed, as have your priorities and you need more flexibility, but don’t quite know how.

A career break can make you feel out of touch, or worse; like you have to start again. Similarly, staying in a role that is zapping your time, energy and creativity can be disheartening at the best of times and health-deteriorating at the worst. Whether you’re facing scenario 1, scenario 2 or a mixture of the two, making the leap from standard to flexible working can feel insurmountable. Especially when you don’t know if you’re ready.

We’ll let you in on a little secret…

There is no real secret to being ‘ready’; much of it is down to confidence. When you’re the driving force behind it, such change can inspire excitement, new opportunities and a better work / life balance. But it can also breed fear and self-doubt. Whether you’ve just started out or are at the top of your game, shaking things up never gets easier; only having the faith does.

We here at Juggle Jobs believe that flexible working is the future; it will stop the perpetual drop-off of women at the top of the career ladder and prevent skilled professionals returning to lower paid roles after a break. So convinced are we that a seismic shift in working patterns is happening, we want to take the concept of flexible working from its mere trend status and turn it into the normative model.

From our research and experience, Juggle has identified 4 key areas to master in order to increase your confidence about flexible working:

• Mindset: Working flexibly is as much about changing your physical working pattern as it is about changing your mental one. You have to be sure that you are a self-starter, disciplined and willing to be available for employers and clients alike, whilst working remotely. These are often the reasons flexible working suits some and not others.
• Planning: You’ve worked out the ‘why’, so now it’s time to look at the ‘how’. Whilst living on a prayer worked out for some 80’s rock stars, there is no room for trial and error in the noughties business world. You need to assess how flexible working will work for you and others involved. Forward-thinking allows you to visualise any prospects as well as limitations and identify strategies for dealing with both, well in advance.
• Teamwork: If you chose to work remotely or keep different working hours, you can easily fall into the trap of ‘working for yourself’. This is a danger zone and can isolate you from those who either don’t work flexibly or rely on your productivity. You should want to remain an active and visible part of any team; it is your responsibility to build trust and prove to both peers and superiors that the arrangement is beneficial for everyone.
• Results: You have to be convinced that flexible working will provide the same (but preferably better) output with the same level of input. If you are outcome-driven person rather than conscious of simply putting the hours, this will make all the difference.

Even when you know it’s what you want to do, it can be difficult to preserve that self-belief when you’re following the path into the unknown, but it doesn’t have to be that way. And it’s vital that it isn’t.

If you’re looking to make the change and want to check if you’re equipped with everything you need, we are offering our Juggle Jobs Assessment Service(™) for free, for a limited time only. Using our in-house system (working on 12 years’ recruitment knowledge and hundreds of people successfully placed in roles) we can determine whether you’re good to go. We also have a great range of workshops, training schemes and other resources to ensure that you will be flexible working ready in no time. Just fill in your details on the form on our website to get started; don’t worry if your CV is not quite there yet — send it to us and we will be in contact soon.

You can support the #BeTheChange movement for women in business leadership here.

For further information or if you have any questions, contact romanie@jugglejobs.co.uk