If only, eh?
My children finish school on Friday until 5th September. Oh, but I were young again and to have six weeks off!
However, it does pose me a problem in terms of working hours. Helpfully, my son has refused to go to a summer school my daughter wanted to enrol on so it's unlikely I will have a week free to concentrate on work.
That said, I will be still be working over the Summer holidays although my capacity will be reduced. Clients on retainer packages will be unaffected, but turnaround for pay-as-you-go customers may be slightly longer than normal.
I do value your custom and hope that you will bear with me over the summer. If you do have an urgent requirement that you'd like to fulfil, please get in touch as early as possible.
Enjoy the holidays and hopefully, we will actually have a Summer starting around about now!
Flexible working - why I choose to work flexibly, and why don't employers promote flexible home-working?
I am a mother. My children are in primary school which gives me the day free. Well, I say the day but actually, I'm free from around 9am until 3.20pm. School finishes at 3.30pm and on the days that they have no after school activities, it's a flurry of homework and getting dinner made. There are times when I do not sit down from the moment we get home from school until I eat my dinner around 5pm. Let's not even go over what I have to do on Thursdays, when one has football and the other dancing lessons!
One of the reasons for starting Jellybean was out of frustration for the lack of flexible working opportunities available to people like myself. Yes, there are part-time jobs but unless it's in a school, there is the issue of what to do with them in the school holidays.
During termtime, childcare that wraps around school is also expensive. Our school does not have its own breakfast and after school club but it does share with a nearby school. It's my personal choice not to use that facility. There are childminders offering a similar service but the best ones are booked up. Childcare costs are ever increasing as this report shows.
Thus, it is my choice (and my budget limitation) that I don't currently put my children into any wrap-around childcare. The work I do has to reflect this demand. In addition, it's great that I am able to make time to attend events in the school day sometimes, without upsetting a boss by having to take time off to be there. I know that when I go, there are children there who cry because their parents are not there, and my children's faces always light up when they see mine at the back of the hall.
You'd think that employers would recognise it is better to keep hold of good employees and offer them work that will allow them to work around their children, but I haven't once seen such work offered in the industry that I used to work in. I found it a struggle to get my own employers to agree to part time working as it was - even though there wasn't enough work to keep me busy full time! Madness. They actually agreed a compromise of a jobshare but that jobshare partner was never found - when they realised they could manage without one and would save them money.
Surely that is the point. Employers don't see the bigger picture - if they retain good employees, they don't have to spend as much money on recruitment and training, and it's been proved many times that people who work from home are often more productive than those working in an office. They have fewer establishment costs - so why are employers reluctant to agree to flexible working from home. I can only assume it is an issue of trust. They don't trust employees to get on with their work, and assume they'll do nothing if unsupervised, but the fact is, work from home employees aren't distracted by other colleagues and are probably less stressed. Managed properly, they can be a very effective resource to call on. And the key is in the word flexible - if I do not work in the day, I can make it up in the evening or the weekend, if I choose to.
Why do you think employers do not offer true flexible working to their employees? Will attitudes ever change? I, for one, doubt it will change wholesale, although there are more people working from home with the technological improvements that have allowed this over the last 10 years in terms of faster broadband and, more recently, smartphone usage.
I'd love to know what you think.
One of the reasons for starting Jellybean was out of frustration for the lack of flexible working opportunities available to people like myself. Yes, there are part-time jobs but unless it's in a school, there is the issue of what to do with them in the school holidays.
During termtime, childcare that wraps around school is also expensive. Our school does not have its own breakfast and after school club but it does share with a nearby school. It's my personal choice not to use that facility. There are childminders offering a similar service but the best ones are booked up. Childcare costs are ever increasing as this report shows.
Thus, it is my choice (and my budget limitation) that I don't currently put my children into any wrap-around childcare. The work I do has to reflect this demand. In addition, it's great that I am able to make time to attend events in the school day sometimes, without upsetting a boss by having to take time off to be there. I know that when I go, there are children there who cry because their parents are not there, and my children's faces always light up when they see mine at the back of the hall.
You'd think that employers would recognise it is better to keep hold of good employees and offer them work that will allow them to work around their children, but I haven't once seen such work offered in the industry that I used to work in. I found it a struggle to get my own employers to agree to part time working as it was - even though there wasn't enough work to keep me busy full time! Madness. They actually agreed a compromise of a jobshare but that jobshare partner was never found - when they realised they could manage without one and would save them money.
Surely that is the point. Employers don't see the bigger picture - if they retain good employees, they don't have to spend as much money on recruitment and training, and it's been proved many times that people who work from home are often more productive than those working in an office. They have fewer establishment costs - so why are employers reluctant to agree to flexible working from home. I can only assume it is an issue of trust. They don't trust employees to get on with their work, and assume they'll do nothing if unsupervised, but the fact is, work from home employees aren't distracted by other colleagues and are probably less stressed. Managed properly, they can be a very effective resource to call on. And the key is in the word flexible - if I do not work in the day, I can make it up in the evening or the weekend, if I choose to.
Why do you think employers do not offer true flexible working to their employees? Will attitudes ever change? I, for one, doubt it will change wholesale, although there are more people working from home with the technological improvements that have allowed this over the last 10 years in terms of faster broadband and, more recently, smartphone usage.
I'd love to know what you think.
Half term - the time when being a work from home mum is the biggest challenge
School holidays. A time that strikes fear into many parents' hearts. Me? I don't mind them, largely because we don't have to be anywhere on time, on the whole. The pace is more relaxed and the children enjoy the freedom of doing what they want.
The only problem is me trying to juggle work with them being home. My husband can take the children out so I can work but that kind of defeats the point of him taking time off to be with us. I struggle to work whilst the children are up, even when they are being less bother than normal, they want drinks, snacks, ask me questions, get me to be negotiator and solver of all their problems.
It mean that work impinges into evenings, a time I try to keep free, like blogging at my personal blog, catching up with Twitter friends, and saying hello to my husband without a demanding child getting in the way. So, I do some and resent it. Then I remember how much I have to do. And I get stressed.
I don't want the kids to go back to school in some ways and can't wait for them to go back in others. I am truly conflicted.
I don't know what the answer is, perhaps you can share thoughts as to what works for you. Do you just not work over school holidays or do you set a rigid routine? I'd love to know what suggestions you have.
The only problem is me trying to juggle work with them being home. My husband can take the children out so I can work but that kind of defeats the point of him taking time off to be with us. I struggle to work whilst the children are up, even when they are being less bother than normal, they want drinks, snacks, ask me questions, get me to be negotiator and solver of all their problems.
It mean that work impinges into evenings, a time I try to keep free, like blogging at my personal blog, catching up with Twitter friends, and saying hello to my husband without a demanding child getting in the way. So, I do some and resent it. Then I remember how much I have to do. And I get stressed.
I don't want the kids to go back to school in some ways and can't wait for them to go back in others. I am truly conflicted.
I don't know what the answer is, perhaps you can share thoughts as to what works for you. Do you just not work over school holidays or do you set a rigid routine? I'd love to know what suggestions you have.
The joys of being a work from home mum
So, my children were home today because of the strike.When you work from home,such events don't mean you have to pay for extra childcare but it does mean that you might not be able to do any chargeable work because you have children to look after or entertain.
However, I did have some work that I really had to get done so I picked up my laptop and tried to crack on, leaving me the rest of the day to spend with the children.
So, there I was, tapping away on my laptop, surrounded by bits of paper (I am not a tidy worker) when my son came to ask if we could go somewhere and do something. I replied no, not now, but maybe later. He looked at me scornfully and said,
"Well, if you stopped messing around on the Internet, we could do something now."
and stomped off.
So, there you have it, what I do is "messing around on the Internet."
Nice to know my kids really appreciate the work I do.
However, I did have some work that I really had to get done so I picked up my laptop and tried to crack on, leaving me the rest of the day to spend with the children.
So, there I was, tapping away on my laptop, surrounded by bits of paper (I am not a tidy worker) when my son came to ask if we could go somewhere and do something. I replied no, not now, but maybe later. He looked at me scornfully and said,
"Well, if you stopped messing around on the Internet, we could do something now."
and stomped off.
So, there you have it, what I do is "messing around on the Internet."
Nice to know my kids really appreciate the work I do.
Welcome to Jellybean
Do you need help for your business but cannot justify hiring staff?
Are you not sure how much help you need, and prefer to use flexible resources that work with your business?
Are you self-employed or running a small business and find that paperwork stops you from doing work that earns you money?
Do you find paperwork a challenge?
Do you put off sending and chasing invoices, affecting your cash flow?
Would you like more time to spend doing the work you love and still have time for your family?
I can help. I worked in the IT industry for 22 years and for most of that time, I did my own administration and paperwork. After a career change two years ago, I set up Jellybean Business Support in April 2011 and have been working with clients to help them run their businesses more effectively. I have high standards of work, as well as providing absolute confidentiality. My IT skills mean I can do more than I can undertake more tasks than a junior member of staff. I call it "Intelligent Business Support".
What can I do for you?
Standard PA work - producing letters and other documents, replying to sales enquiries via telephone and email, diary management, travel arrangements, invoicing and credit control.
Research - I can research information on the internet and provide reports on my findings.
Procurement - researching the best price for the items you need for your business to save you money. I can deal with suppliers to build good relationships and high standards of service.
Assistance with running your business processes - tracking clients and milestones, compiling statistics and producing reports for clients or for internal use, or I can assess how you work and set up better ways for you to do your administration.
Writing - I can write engaging content for your business blog or website. I write a personal blog, called The Five Fs blog, which I have written since April 2010. It regularly features in the UK Top 100 parenting blog rankings and I was a finalist in the Blog Post of the Year category in the MAD Blog Awards 2011. I have written sponsored posts and reviews on this blog for a number of different clients.
IT Consultancy and advice - I can assess your use of IT within your business and make recommendations based on your business requirements.
What next?
Get in touch with me and we can discuss your requirements.
Jellybean. Intelligent Business Support.
Are you not sure how much help you need, and prefer to use flexible resources that work with your business?
Are you self-employed or running a small business and find that paperwork stops you from doing work that earns you money?
Do you find paperwork a challenge?
Do you put off sending and chasing invoices, affecting your cash flow?
Would you like more time to spend doing the work you love and still have time for your family?
I can help. I worked in the IT industry for 22 years and for most of that time, I did my own administration and paperwork. After a career change two years ago, I set up Jellybean Business Support in April 2011 and have been working with clients to help them run their businesses more effectively. I have high standards of work, as well as providing absolute confidentiality. My IT skills mean I can do more than I can undertake more tasks than a junior member of staff. I call it "Intelligent Business Support".
What can I do for you?
Standard PA work - producing letters and other documents, replying to sales enquiries via telephone and email, diary management, travel arrangements, invoicing and credit control.
Research - I can research information on the internet and provide reports on my findings.
Procurement - researching the best price for the items you need for your business to save you money. I can deal with suppliers to build good relationships and high standards of service.
Assistance with running your business processes - tracking clients and milestones, compiling statistics and producing reports for clients or for internal use, or I can assess how you work and set up better ways for you to do your administration.
Writing - I can write engaging content for your business blog or website. I write a personal blog, called The Five Fs blog, which I have written since April 2010. It regularly features in the UK Top 100 parenting blog rankings and I was a finalist in the Blog Post of the Year category in the MAD Blog Awards 2011. I have written sponsored posts and reviews on this blog for a number of different clients.
IT Consultancy and advice - I can assess your use of IT within your business and make recommendations based on your business requirements.
What next?
Get in touch with me and we can discuss your requirements.
Jellybean. Intelligent Business Support.
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