Getting the Best from Your Work Week

I read a very interesting article in the Irish Independent a few weeks ago that stayed in my head for days. Titled ‘Happy Families’, it was written by Barbara Harding and contained the news that Barnardos is now offering advice to busy families on how to get through the demands of a busy work week -- and still find time to spend quality time with their children.

It says a lot about Ireland’s work life pressures when one of our leading child welfare charities is issuing advice on how to maximise the few precious hours at night time that has become the staple ‘family time’ for families across the country. We are all trying to cram a week’s worth of cuddles, love and fun into a few stolen hours across an already hectic weekend, with the result that everyone is exhausted and unfulfilled. Sports days are unattended, Christmas plays missed, it doesn’t take a genius to realise that it’s time to stop and find a better way...

Three years ago, I was in this very position. Having spent over twelve years carving out a very successful career in IT and finance, I had become acutely aware of the toll that the frequent business trips, long hours and weekend work were having on my time with my family. It’s a dilemma faced by countless parents in every corner of the country – how do you balance your work life with your home life. Can you ever have the best of both worlds?

I remember the exact moment when I knew I had to make a change. My light bulb moment! I was working on a very high level assignment at work and the team was feeling the pressure to get things finished ahead of schedule. My youngest daughter was just turning one and we had placed her in a lovely crèche that was unfortunately quite a distance from my work. Zoe was ready to be picked up at school and I was running late. After dashing across town to get Amy, I found myself stuck in a traffic jam in the pouring rain, getting increasingly aggravated and upset about Zoe having to wait for me. And then it hit me. I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want my children to have to do this anymore. I want my work to fit my life. I don’t want my life to revolve around my work.

And so I quit. Now I was not nearly as brave as that sounds. It had taken a long time for me to get to this point, and even though I knew it was the right thing, I was still terrified. The irony of my situation was that I was really good at my job. I enjoyed the challenge of big projects, the fulfilment of deadlines realised, the camaraderie of a great work team. I thrived on the buzz of it all. And even though I realised that I wanted to be a bigger part of my family’s everyday life, I still recognised that I needed an intellectual challenge that would fulfil my own aspirations. Except now it had to be on my terms.

During my pre-launch research, I was excited to learn I wasn’t alone. I discovered a community of like-minded people in exactly the same position as me – people who were parents, but also lawyers, accountants, HR directors and project managers. People who had given up work due to the pressures of balancing their home and work life but who wanted to get back into the work force – this time with hours and roles of their choosing.

At Innovation Employment, we know that there are people like me who would like an intellectual challenge and something for themselves, without having to sacrifice very important personal commitments. They are content with the fact that they will not be the CEO of a large multinational but realise that they have something genuinely useful to offer employers. This way of working is not just something that affects parents. It is also something to be considered by anyone who wants to choose how they work and play.

And so the notion of ‘happy families’ can be a reality. It’s comes back to working smarter, not harder. Because you’ll never get the chance to see your child trample over the Baby Jesus in the Christmas pageant – and you wouldn’t want to either.

Lynda McCracken
October 30^th, 2007