Making Work A Positive Experience For Mums - MyDeal.com.au

By Alan J. McDonald

Creating a positive working experience for new mothers returning to work starts with knowing your rights.

McDonald Murholme Senior Associate, Bianca Mazzarella, highlights the importance of knowing your right to flexible working arrangements such as a change of hours, change in patterns of work such as ‘split-shifts’ or a change of location of work

See below article for more information.

Making Work A Positive Experience For Mums

Choosing between staying at home with your kids and getting back into the workforce is something all mother’s need to deal with at some point along their journey. Read on for some positive stories and advice about working as a mum.

A positive experience

Kathleen Aikin from Pumpables shared this uplifting example of a great working environment:

“This is an extremely positive experience for me as a mother and for my family as it has afforded me the opportunity to stay home with my children and work from home. They are very accommodating to my needs as a mother because I can work part-time and set my own hours throughout the day, meaning I don’t have to stress over meal times and nap times. They also offer the benefit of paying for a cleaning service to come to my house so I don’t have to worry about the mess! Pumpables is a fantastic company to work for who are run by moms and understand moms, which is what I think makes their products so great too. I can’t stress enough how great it is to work here!”

Dealing with the unexpected

Kate Clugston runs a small yoga studio in Sydney and believes that communication is key to working as a mum. Here’s her story about one day when things didn’t go to plan:

“I once had childcare fall through at late notice when I needed to teach, I showed up to class with my 2.5 year old and told everyone the situation, and let them choose, we could do the class with my son in attendance (and be prepared for the unexpected, after all, “surrendering to what is”, an important teaching on the yoga path) or I could refund them, or offer a makeup class. Everyone was incredibly understanding, chose to stay to practice and it was a beautiful class, with my joyful child running about the room, hiding behind curtains and occasionally playing with the toys or nibbling the snacks I had brought for him. I wouldn’t choose this everyday but we made the best of the situation. By having trust, honesty and clear communication with my clients, we cut each other some slack when things don’t work out as planned. They know my situation, when things go awry they are compassionate, and I show my commitment to them by going above and beyond whenever I can.”

Know your legal rights

Bianca Mazzarella from McDonald Murholme lawyers wants women to understand they have rights when it comes to returning to work. Understanding your legal rights is an important part of making returning to work a positive experience. Once women have returned to work they are able to request changes to their schedule based on their new status as a mother. Bianca offers this advice, “You have the right to request flexible working arrangements such as a change of hours, change in patterns of work such as ‘split-shifts’ or a change of location of work. Employees are not entitled to make the request unless they have completed at least 12 months of continuous service with their employer immediately before making the request.”

There’s many benefits to mothers who return to work from improved mental health to having enough money for all the best new equipment for your baby and upgrading furniture as they grow. And these mums prove you can have the best of both worlds.

Reference: ‘Making Work A Positive Experience For Mums’, MyDeal.com.au, 28^th August 2017.