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?

disabilities

, , , , ,

Diane Lightfoot joins us for #LetsAllFlexTogetherDay 2018!

, , , , ,
Diane Lightfoot pic.JPG

We're delighted to have Diane join us for the launch of the National Flexible Working Day 2018. As the CEO of the Business and Disability Forum, she has a great depth of expertise to add to ur Flexible Working panel on the day and tell us why Flexible Working really should be for everyone.

Here, she sits down with us and tells us how she'll be contributing on the day....

 

  1. Tell us who you are and about your role?

I’m CEO of Business Disability Forum, a not for profit membership organisation and registered charity which exists to support businesses to recruit and retain disabled employees and serve disabled customers. Ultimately, our mission is about transforming the life chances of disabled people as employees and consumers. As CEO, I lead a team of really passionate, creative people who provide practical advice and support to our 300 Members and Partners via our Advice Service, Training, Events, Resources and consultancy and who lobby on key policy issues. I’m also lucky enough to work closely with our member and partner organisations – who include a huge range of household names and together employ 15% of the UK workforce – to create tools and campaigns for change.

 

       2. Why do you feel that flexible working should be for all?

One of the top topics – and frequently asked questions – to our Advice Service is workplace adjustments; what they are, how to make them and what options are possible. Whilst people tend to think of pieces of “kit” when they think of adjustments, one of the simplest and most impactful adjustments in improving the experience of disabled employees is flexible working and indeed it is the most common adjustment in the UK. Flexible working means that people can avoid travelling in rush hour, if that causes stress or anxiety for example or if it is difficult to accommodate a wheelchair on a packed train. Having the ability to work remotely can also be very helpful for example for people with energy-limiting conditions who also might want to work a split day to manage energy levels. Of course, flexible working can benefit everyone and if it is available to all you reduce the need for people to have to ask when they might not want to tell you why they need it, whether that is because of a disability or caring responsibilities, for example. It also reduces any possible resentment around “special treatment” for some and not others.

      3. Have you seen any benefits of working flexibly to date?

We know that flexible working patterns have been the difference between employees staying in work and not going back to work. We also know that employees enjoy work more if they can work flexibly – it can create a better work-life balance and enable people to be not only a better employee, but also a better partner, parent, etc. Flexible working also fits with a focus on outcomes and on what you need done rather than being prescriptive about how and when something should be done. Flexible working gives employees the space to figure out how best they can achieve those outcomes – and if you focus on the outcomes rather than process then people will have the freedom to work in the way that makes them most effective and most productive – and that’s good for the business too.

      4. What’s your top tip for businesses who are yet to implement this practice?

The top tip for businesses is simply to try it!

      5. What will you and your company be doing to support National Flexible Working day 2018?

I’ll be supporting it by speaking at the 923 event on 12 September and we will use it as a hook to continue to promote the benefits of flexible working for disabled employees.

 

Register here to attend our National Flexible Working Day on 12th September to join in the conversation around flexible working, see how it works in action and talk to business' who are doing this already. If you can't attend in person, why not join in online, posting your comments and questions (and we'd love to see your pictures too) using our hashtag #LetsAllFlexTogetherDay - see you there!