Once you become a parent, everything changes! Some people find it very hard to accept that they don’t have the same freedom that they had before their children came along.
One area of your life that may well have to change a lot will be your job or career.
Positive Changes
If you had a very stressful job before you had children, but thrived on the pressure and challenges that it presented on a daily basis, you may be very reluctant to give that up.
However, you have to accept that your energy and stamina levels may not be the same as they were before you had your children, and that the job you loved so much may well have to be replaced with a role that is not quite so demanding.
New Ideas
You may decide to take extended maternity leave and have a year or even two out of the work place. Many parents want to spend this time with their children and some are lucky enough to be able to.
If you have had extended maternity leave, you may find returning to work quite daunting. For example, technology will have moved on and you may also feel less confident and assertive than you did before.
Retrain?
Returning to work after a break is also a good time to think about training for a new career, perhaps something that will fit well around your family commitments.
Your local Job Centre Plus or college will be able to provide you with information and dates for open days when you can go and discuss your ideas and plans. Many people want to find work that fits around school times and holidays so that they do not have to worry too much about finding childcare.
Food for Thought
There is a huge trend for working from home and flexible working these days, and lots of people are finding that they can do their job from home for at least part of the week.
The best way to approach this idea is to speak to your employer and see if you can come to an arrangement. It may be that you can take the school holidays off with no pay, or work from home twice a week.
If you don’t ask-you will never know and EU employment legislation states that employers have a duty to consider such requests.
Working From Home and Running Your Own Business
Working from home sounds like the perfect life!
However, although you may think that home workers spend all day in their pyjamas working from the comfort of their sofa (or bed!) the reality is quite different, and trying to concentrate on your work while juggling children, chores and well meaning friends who just drop in for a coffee, is not an easy task!
If you are thinking of working from home or running your own business then be aware that you will still need childcare and you must be strict and organised about your daily routine.
There are loads of options for home working from selling stuff on Ebay, to working as a virtual PA, writer, book keeper or admin assistant.
Whatever you decide to do, make sure you plan it properly, have a dedicated space in your home to work from, and set proper working times when you friends know they can’t disturb you!
See Also
