Balancing work and baby bedtimes: Simone’s story

Changing the landscape for working parents

Being around other working mothers, I realise how lucky I am. Few of my friends outside of Standard Chartered have the option of working flexibly. Many struggled to reach an understanding with their managers on a potential flexible schedule. Sadly, a lot of them ended up leaving their jobs because culturally – within their companies as well as in society – flexible working is not as commonly accepted or practiced.

My manager and I had a lot of discussions and we went through quite a bit of trial and error to find something that would work for both our needs.

My advice to other working parents looking to work flexibly is to:

• Take the initiative and have a conversation with your manager. If you want things to change, you need to take the first step.
• Don’t give up if it doesn’t work at first. Just like anything else you try for the first time, things might not always fall into place perfectly. My manager and I went through quite a bit of trial and error before we found an arrangement that worked for both of us.
• Be flexible, and I mean in every sense of the word. With a bit of a bit of give and take on both sides, you will make it work.

Getting the right formula is not easy but it is worth the effort, especially since the idea of flexible working seems to be catching on. I have a colleague who just gave birth, and she has opted for my same work arrangement I first used. It is nice to know that in my own small way, I am helping to change the perception of flexible working.