Helen Wright
Pulling together

The festive period is often a time of reflection.  As December rolls around, we're sometimes haunted by the ghosts of Christmasses past.  Of years when the office was festooned with tinsel and the wistful tones of Mariah Carey echoed around the departmental kitchen.  This can go either way, of course.  You might feel a touch of nostalgia for the years when reindeer sweaters were de rigueur at your Friday morning accounts meeting.  You may, on the other hand, shudder at the memory of an office Christmas lunch of lukewarm turkey and soggy sprouts.  Either way, this time of year has a habit of focussing the mind on the issue of RTO - the "Return To The Office".

Pulling together
Helen Wright
The Big Cheese

What makes a good leader?  How much impact do our senior managers really have on our day-to-day experience of work?   And is the movement towards equality and flexibility for all really dependent on great chiefs?

The Big Cheese
Helen Wright
Bright Sparks: Top Tips for Returning To Work ...

In an attempt to smooth the path of our friends in the 9-2-3 community, we've put together some top tips to help you to return to work with confidence, and bag the best flexible jobs on the market in 2024.  Read on for more details...

Bright Sparks: Top Tips for Returning To Work After a Career Break
Helen Wright
All Four One

Ah, September.  Month of blustery mornings.  Of afternoons where the leaves crunch satisfyingly under your feet.  Of endless confusion about the day on which PE kit is required.  Don't you just love it?

 We can't help but feel a flutter of excitement at this time of year.   Possibly it's because of the sudden silence at home, or the reduced demands for snacks and screen time.  Maybe you're celebrating the excuse to dig out cosy sweaters and to retreat inside with a book.  Or perhaps it's the fact that the air is just that touch fresher, the colours that fraction richer.  Everyone I pass is walking with a little bit more purpose in their steps.  However old we are, as the new academic year rolls around, I think we all feel a little more driven - that it's time to set ourselves some new goals, and that we finally have the bandwidth and the space to achieve them.

All Four One
Helen Wright
Who cares?

Here at 9-2-3, we often talk about the challenges of balancing childcare with careers.  Of how flexible working can help people with disabilities to access the workplace.  About how flex can help older employees extend their working lives.  But there's another group of employees out there whose place in the world of work is also increasingly under threat…

Who cares?

flexible working benefits

“But what if EVERYONE wants flex?”

“But what if EVERYONE wants flex?”

If we let one person work flexibly, then everyone will want to!” is often the argument we hear when speaking to companies who are resistant to introducing flexible working arrangements.

And at 9-2-3, our response is: “That’s a good thing!”

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#generationflex - A graduate's perspective on the need for flexible working

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#generationflex - A graduate's perspective on the need for flexible working

“Having the freedom to work flexibly and being able to dictate your own hours creates a two-way relationship of trust. Personally, for me it creates a greater sense of company loyalty as it demonstrates a high level of trust from your employer, helping make myself as a recent graduate feel valued.”

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Flex: Making it work - as a company

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Flex: Making it work - as a company

Now, I know that a blog about the logistical challenges of implementing flex in the workplace is not the most inspiring topic in the world.  As a passionate advocate of flexible working, it is all too easy for me to reel off reasons why it is so powerful.  The benefits to business are not in dispute - proven advantages include a happier, more productive workforce, less sick days taken by staff, increased profits, I could (and on many occasions, do) go on …………… But what people don’t hear about quite so often is exactly HOW businesses make flexible working work within their organisation.  


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How technology facilitates flexible working…with Flex IT

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If you're wondering if it's possible to implement flexible working within your team...but you keep getting that niggling feeling that it would just be too time consuming and expensive, we can assure you that it's not the big task mountain that you think it is. …

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The future of flex by ANGHARAD SALAZAR LLEWELLYN, THE FLEX NETWORK

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“Job experience and design” - it might not be a term that you are currently familiar with, but this driving force behind flexible working will soon be hitting headlines everywhere. In simple terms it means embracing technology and re-appraising working hours to create a bespoke job experience that suits a person’s individual lifestyle no matter if they’re a flexible worker, freelancer or a small business owner.

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How to work from home by @Laura_the_9_to_3

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Not only do we love the name of Laura’s business, but we’ve been following her page on Instagram for a while now and love the content she pops out on there. Take a read of the blog she’s written for our #25dayflexup about how she makes ‘working from home’ work for her…

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Time to dust off your old CV?

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If you’re starting to look for your next opportunity but are worried about how your CV is going to stand out, then fear not, the 9-2-3 team have summarised some of the best tips to help get you going…