OPINION PIECE – Juliet Jones is Vodafone’s Acting Legal and External Affairs Director.
It wasn’t going to be easy. Or so people told me. Giving up puree for PowerPoint and lullabies for leadership – where’s the handbook, the on-line guide, or in our organisation, the App? The truth is, a year away from the office to raise a baby feels like a lifetime on that anxious first day of return. But like many things, the thought is often worse than the deed which is what I was about to find out.
It can feel isolating to return after a period away, especially if your workplace situation has changed, such as starting in a new role or with a different team. Very early on I decided to track down work friends and colleagues to reconnect with. My immediate insight was that lots had changed but just as much had stayed the same. In many aspects the company had moved on but so had I. This was a helpful mindset to ease the transition in the early months.
Getting set up on day one and being able to connect anywhere is important in feeling welcome back into the fold. And Vodafone did this well for me – a new laptop since I had missed the company-wide upgrade – and I was away. Vodafone also gives the option of keeping connected while being away and in my case this helped me feel linked in to networks. Others choose not to and that is fine too. The important thing is having the choice.
Agreeing a flexible working arrangement was instrumental in helping me navigate the difficult balance of work and parenting. In my experience, managers play a key part in the success or otherwise of flexible working. Even when there is an established platform of trust, an upfront conversation to establish practices and expectations is invaluable. While I have been lucky with a healthy child, I have never felt awkward on the few occasions when I have had to leave the office to fulfil parenting duties.
Parental leave is a hot political topic in New Zealand. We sit in the middle of the OECD pack for parental leave entitlements but still fall short of some countries. The economic, cultural and social benefits of retaining women in the workplace are well documented and generally well understood, but many employers still find it difficult. Vodafone’s recent decision to increase parental leave entitlements and allow for part time working with full salary for the first six months back is a firm commitment in this regard. Early results are promising – one year on and 100% of our people who have returned under this scheme have stayed for at least 12 months.
Many women who currently occupy executive or governance roles will have stories to tell about how much of their personal lives they sacrificed to get to the top. Alternatively, they will have fully outsourced childcare and running the home, such as to a stay-at-home partner. People I talk to, many of whom aspire to an executive role one day, are simply not interested in the former and don’t have the luxury to choose the latter. I don’t believe we should be – or need to be – forcing such trade-offs. There is a case for more role modelling of women who are taking alternative paths to leadership roles.
It is common nowadays for New Zealand businesses to claim they have strategies in place to retain women in the workplace. Many more know that this is key if they are to achieve greater diversity at the top, including gender representation. These are tricky objectives and unfortunately New Zealand is not doing well across most metrics. But smart companies know that if they don’t act quickly they will be left behind. It is not about political correctness; it is just plain good business sense.
But back to lullabies and leadership. The combination of keeping connected, an open and transparent flexible working arrangement and a culture of trust meant I was able to strike the right balance on returning to work at Vodafone. But the workplace continually changes and so does family life. The challenge, as always, is to continually assess what is right for your career and your family. As long as your workplace keeps supporting that, you’ll know you’re in the right place.
