Ellen's blog: Back to work

"I am almost there with beginning a new job. It has been a very long process, which culminated in a recruitment freeze, meaning that I will be starting as a contractor, with a view to eventually becoming a permanent member of staff (fingers crossed on that).

So it is with a great deal of excitement and more than a little nervousness that I will be re-entering the world of work at some point next week (notwithstanding that it will probably take longer than expected to sort out this business of setting up a limited company through which to contract my professional services)

Having learned from previous mistakes, and emboldened by the example of some of our Citymothers and Cityfathers who are working flexibly, I decided to tackle head-on the conversation about remote-working and throw in a few questions about expectations on Work/Life balance (in for a penny, in for a pound) before accepting a job offer.

So I asked my recruiter to speak to the prospective employer about the possibility of me working remotely on occasion. I was acutely conscious of the fact that this type of question, asked at this point in the recruitment process, could lead to the sounding of alarm bells (she’s not committed / a part-timer / not a team-player / doesn’t understand the demands of the job) and at worst the withdrawal of the offer, on the basis that if I can’t give it 100% then I’m not the right person for the job.

I can see the argument from both sides - in a busy environment when it’s all hands to the pump, it is not fair for a new team member to join and be immediately given a ‘special arrangement’ which may mean that they are not present when some crucial discussions are taking place. The last thing any team leader wants to do is to appear to be giving favourable treatment to the new person in the team; this will lead to resentment and is hardly the ideal cornerstone for building a collegiate team. The thing is that I’m not asking for that, I am asking for a bit of certainty about the time of day I will physically depart the office. I just want to put the kids to bed and have a quick chat about their day, how much crucial stuff have I missed, what reading books have they read to someone else etc. and then I’m happy to resume my professional commitments, remotely. I am prepared to spend time building a relationship of trust with my new boss which will earn me the right to carve out a suitable arrangement that satisfies both our requirements (yes, of course it will be that easy, right)?!

I don’t know how things will pan out, but I can tell you that an enormous weight was lifted from my shoulders when I had that conversation with my recruiter and she then raised the issue with my prospective new boss. I felt brave, relaxed, anxious and excited, all at the same time. The response from the employer was positive - they understand my family situation and appear to accept that this may mean there will be occasions when I am not physically present in the way that they are used to.

This is in stark contrast to a previous experience of starting a new job, where I deliberately hid my ‘parent’ status in order not to put anyone off. I ended up working ridiculous hours (all of them from my desk) because the culture of that organisation was that long hours=dedication=good career prospects. Those people who did work remotely or flexibly (as encouraged by the “HR Policy”) were out of sight out of mind, and their contribution to the business often went unrecognised because the best thing you could do for your career was be seen leaving late at night, even if that was because you had been highly inefficient during the day!.

I’ll let you know how I get on in next blog. In the mean time I’d like to thank my fellow bloggers James and Dolly for their excellent blogging, and for carving out a path for the rest of us to follow. Without people like them, and the countless others who break the mould on working practices, I would not be in a position to have a sensible conversation on this subject with some senior city professionals, who are now used to the idea that sometimes the best talent is working from home."

Until recently Ellen worked for a well-known investment bank in the City. She began her career at KPMG, before moving on to Barclays, HSBC and Aviva before joining her most recent employer almost three years ago. She has two children aged four and two.