The flexibility allows me to better balance my professional and personal responsibilities, reducing stress and improving overall wellbeing.  I find that I am much more productive when I work from home.  My commute to the office can be between 1 hour 30 to 1 hour 45 minutes, therefore, this saves me time and I can get through more work.  Prior to covid, this flexibility would not have presented itself with the role I had at the time and to be given this opportunity and to prove that it works has been a blessing for me.

Unless I am travelling to a different office location, I travel to the office twice a week.  I try and change the days of the week to enable me to see different colleagues.  While I have a team in place to manage the day to day running of the office, it is important in my role that I attend the office, as being onsite allows me to directly guide and support the team and address issues that are unable to be addressed from home.  Being onsite also allows me to double check the office environment, ensuring it is safe, functional, and conducive to productivity.  It is also key in my role to build interpersonal relationships and therefore physical presence is important.

I very much value the flexibility I am afforded and due to the workload undertaken this flexibility is the only way I would be able to manage this and life outside of work.

Initially, working from home meant working much longer hours and it has taken a lot to train myself to know when to switch off and segregate work and home life.  This was not only important for me and my team/colleagues but also for my family.  I am very productive at home; however, I have to remind myself how important it is for me to go into the office.  I now have the right balance.

Organising face to face meeting is more of a challenge now  - to understand who is where and when.

Due to the nature of what the team does, it is very important to have presence from the team in the office every day, therefore, flexible working would not be possible for all roles within the team.
However, where this could be offered, we have done so.  This does not stop those with roles that require being in the office full time no flexibility.  Flexibility is always provided for medical appointments, family commitments etc.

If someone needs to work from home, this is approved whenever possible, and other team members cover.   Flexibility is key for everyone and communicating all boundaries around what flexibility can be afforded is key.

Establish a clear boundary on work and family time to ensure burnout is prevented and you can maintain work-life balance.  If you are a manager, listen to your team’s needs and adapt accordingly.  It isn’t always about you.

Team’s meetings are a huge part of the working day and therefore it is important to be present and engaged with the camera on.

Communication is extremely important and without this being clear can lead to poor output and confusion.