What family friendly and flexible working means to parents and children

As a leader I have a front row seat to see the efforts of my colleagues on a regular basis. People generally work really hard.

Of course there are always some slackers. Sometimes people are battling a health or personal issue and are not firing on all cylinders. But in general people give a lot of time, focus and virtue to their employers.

This makes it especially sad that to many big companies their individual staff members are not really special. People give their heart and soul to their job but to the corporation they are no one.

I’m fortunate to work for a different kind of big company. Iress has family friendly and flexible working policies. We are treated as responsible and hard working adults which makes it a bit easier to juggle the many pressures of life.

As a dad this is not just a good deal but a big deal. I said earlier that to many big companies their individual employees are no one. But boy howdy, to your kids... To your kids you’re not no one. To your kids you’re the world and the only thing they know.

One of my colleagues finished critical maintenance on a client server at 4am this morning. Guess what my response is going to be next time they ask to work remotely so they can be there for their family? It’s not going to be yes... It’s going to be heck yes!