Mission Control
Whatever your working pattern of choice – part time work, remote work, compressed hours – there’s no question that flexible working has made a huge difference to our lives. Forget Biff, Chip and Kipper - for millions of us, flexibility has been the magic key to unlocking a better work-life balance. It’s enabled us to cheer on our kids at sports days. To provide a listening ear for elderly relatives. To volunteer in our communities. For some of us, flexible working is what makes our worlds go around.

And it’s true, of course, that some flexible working arrangements work best when there‘s flexibility on both sides. But, crucially, that doesn’t mean that you, or your manager, should cast off all work boundaries. Boundaries, after all, are beautiful things.

We’ve been hearing some sad stories from candidates recently who’re looking for new roles because of “mission creep”. Their responsibilities, and the number of days they’ve worked in practice to meet those responsibilities, have slowly – ever so slowly – grown and stretched, and suddenly they find that they’re working four or five days rather than three.

It’s also been hard to avoid the calls in the media for a “right to disconnect”. During lockdown school closures, for example, millions of people worldwide were juggling their jobs with home schooling, and formal working hours seemed to go out of the window. Now that the pandemic’s passed, it’s sometimes been hard to un-blur that line between home and work – so much so that some countries have passed new laws protecting employees’ right to switch off outside their working hours.

So how do we all make sure that we bring the mission back under control – or better still, make sure that it never creeps away from us in the first place? After all, these situations give true flexible working a bad name. As well as championing flexible working as a concept, we want to make sure we help flexible working work for everyone in a practical sense. We’re here to shout about the importance of setting clear working hours so that you’re not in work mode from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to sleep. If you’re working at home, it’s a good idea to have your own dedicated, quiet, workspace, ideally separate from the place where you eat or sleep, to make sure you get some clear headspace away from work. We’re big fans of keeping work email addresses and phone numbers separate from those you use for friends and family, and not checking work emails late at night. We’ve long believed that we should all try to eat lunch away from our desks – or, better still, go for a walking lunch break in the fresh air. A bit of sunshine doesn’t solve every work conundrum, but it will almost definitely make your afternoon more productive!

Perhaps most importantly of all, here at 9-2-3, we’re proud to say that we have a fantastic collection of progressive, enlightened clients who understand the importance of work-life balance, and really value the wellbeing of their teams. We love chatting to our clients and our candidates about their real needs and boundaries, and we always think it’s in everyone’s interests to have these conversations upfront. If you have any further thoughts on what you’re looking for in your next role, or if your needs have changed, please do let us know – we want to find you the perfect match!