The Survival of a working Parent!

Last Thursday, as I walked into the house after another crazy day, the house was upside down, the kids were crazy and the other half was running out the door…

It made me realise how important it is for companies to offer job opportunities with flexible working practices! It also made me think about all working parents out there and what we need to do to survive the next 18 years!!

Do work at home; do home at work. You need to accomplish a certain number of things during a 24-hour period. Where you complete those tasks is beside the point; you just need to check them off the list in order to free up time for the things you want to do. So go ahead: Pay your bills at the office during your lunch hour, and check your work e-mail at home while you’re waiting for the kids to show up at the dinner table.

Getting out the door in the morning (without anyone in tears) is the only thing you have to achieve before 8a.m. Stop trying to organize everything. Your only goals are to leave the house looking good and without your child sobbing because she hates getting dressed in the morning. If that means you put her to bed in her school clothes to avoid a 7 a.m. tantrum, I think you’re a genius.

Arm yourself with secret weapons. Mine include a handbag of treats these can be a life saver both in work and outside of it!! An instant thermometer and emergency high heels.

Go with your gut, and don’t second-guess it later. If you’ve spent days preparing for a meeting that starts in an hour and the school nurse calls to report a painful, though not hospital-worthy, monkey-bar injury, there’s no one right thing to do. On any given day, your instinct might be to skip the meeting. Or suggest that the nurse apply an ice pack and send Shorty back to class. Make a snap decision and then―this is key―don’t question it later. Let it go. Really. I mean it.

And remember it’s all about survival and keeping your sense of humor those crazy days will pass and it a few years’ time we will be looking back with rose-tinted glasses saying how they flew by!!

Having a great work life balance can depend a lot on the company you work for! Find a great job opportunity with a company who offers flexibility in their work practice.  I work as a Recruitment Consultant for HERO Recruitment and I’m fortunate to work a 4 day week giving me some balance!

I recruit for a number of top employers in Ireland offering excellent job opportunities from Galway, Limerick, Cork to Dublin. If I can help you find that balance with a top company please give me a call. I’d love to talk. +353917300222

Deirdre Finnerty, Winner of Recruiter of the Year 2015 & surviving working parent!

HERO Recruitment – Cork – Galway – Dublin  +35391730022