Flexitimers featured in an article in the Sunday Times yesterday about the growing trend towards portfolio careers i.e. people working on several projects at the same time rather than a full time position with just one company. And the trend is growing hence the new term 'giganomics' where 'professionals rely on series of 'gigs' to make a living'. The concept is not brand new as management guru Charles Handy wrote about this almost 20 years ago. In fact, one of his books The Elephant and the Flea, was a huge inspiration to us when setting up Flexitimers. We believe the focus will be on Income rather jobs, because realistically those full time permanent positions are in short supplya and today more than ever we need to think and work outside the box to keep a career alive, so start buidling that portfolio career as it may be the only option for the short term.

Labels: flexible work, Flexitimers, jobs, Media Coverage, part-time work, smart work, work life balance

I read with interest about a new website that will promote working from home in the Sunday Business Post the other day. eWorkingIreland.com is the site and when I went into it on Sunday I met a static holding page without an email capture box, instead visitors were asked to email them to be notified of a live date. Well I went along a moment ago to see it is live (a redirect from Centrecom who are maintaining the site) and it's worth a visit. There are some basics like the benefits to eworkers and companies which most of us already know - no commute, less stress, more productivity and higher staff retention and so on. However, I did have a brief look at section on Studies, Report and White Papers and I have to say there's a lot of good content and case studies there. Definitely worth a look.

Labels: contracting, flexible work, part-time work, self-employed, smart work, work life balance

There was an article about us in yesterday's Sunday Independent in the business supplement. Essentially it's about our philosophy about the changing nature of work - you don't have to work in a full-time permanent job to have a career. Benefits for employers too but you can read about that in the Flexible Future. We've received an enormous response to this article not only in registrations to the site from both professionals and employers but also for the many kind and well wishing emails we've received. So thank you all for that. And remember Flexitimers is a person-2-person platform and works best when there are lots of people on it so don't forget to tell your friends: if you pass us on via the site you can enter our fab competition to win a chef in your kitchen for a day who'll cook up a storm and fill your freezer with mouth-watering ready made dinners. Yum.
PS That's a particularly unforgiving picture of both of us but I would say that anyway!

Labels: flexible work, part-time work, work life balance

Flexitimers got a mention in yesterday's Irish Independent article (Is the supermum a thing of the past?) on the reality of combining a career with having children. 'Supermum' is no more according to research conducted by sociologists in Cambridge University. Apparently, you simply cannot have it all: time for a high-powered job, children, DH and an exciting social life. The study claims that an increasing number of people believe mums having careers comes at the expense of their children.
I remember having this same argument with my (then childless) sister and my point was that you could do both, but less competently than a childless career woman or a full time parent. Something has to give, there are only 24 hours in a day but it's not just simply down to time, I believe it's head space: if you're thinking about work work work all the time, then you're probably not going to pick up the subtle cues that parenting requires. Conversely if you're at work and constantly thinking of baby in creche (yes we've all done it), and I'm big enough to admit I didn't have the same fire in the belly that day. This doesn't mean that all childless people are high fliers and all stay-at-home parents are fantastic parents, of course it's down to the individual and their own levels of motivation, happiness, self-esteem etc.
I'm just saying from a personal point of view that I felt I had to chose one and I chose parenting - but that was nearly 10 years ago - a time before work-life balance and career flexibility.

Indeed that was before Flexitimers because since then I've realised you can have it all but you can only have one full-time permanent job (parenting) then outside of that you can fit in the part-time, freelance, contract and temp work and have the time and head space to do that really really well. So Cambridge University I'm afraid I disagree, working mums can have it all but you're presuming career is synonymous with full-time permanent work and all us Flexitimers out there know that's simply not the case. And everyone, even the dog on the street, knows that nobody can sustain 2 full time jobs at the same time!

So thanks Susan Daly for your kind mention and hopefully your readers will flock to Flexitimers and have it all too.
All the best
Joy

Labels: flexible work, smart work, Women and Work, work, work life balance

Taking the leap from permanent work to part time or contract work is not as hard as you might think. Put yourself in the shoes of any of your previous employers and assess the skills, strengths and experience you now have within your working life. Ask yourself what you brought to the companies you worked for? I bet you'll find you have a pretty long list of skills and experiences which are worth a lot. Once you see yourself as a "skill set" you will see how past employers have had the confidence in you.

Simply transfer that same confidence they have had in you and HAVE THAT SAME CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELF. Prior to setting up Flexitimers, Dervla and I have both been employees and employers and at the end of the day it's really pretty much the same. There is a job to be done and you do it.

Once you have the confidence to stand up and pitch for business for somebody else, you can definitely pitch for yourself. Companies only hire people they think will add value and ultimately sales to their business. Assess yourself and realise your worth. Ask yourself how can my 'working life' work for me? If others have believed in you maybe it's time you believed in yourself.

So this sounds good but you have started thinking of some of the benefits you might lose? Think again.....

- I have a steady income coming in every month .....(You can have that too!)
- I have 6 weeks paid holidays every year..................(You can have that too!)
- I can take time off if something comes up...............(You can have that too!)
- I work in a team so share the responsibility ..........(You can have that too!)


How do I make the leap?

- Make a list of what you want i.e. the terms of your self employment e.g. salary, leave.
- Make a list of what you can offer (you've done this before for job interviews)
- Make a Plan of Action to include timelines, pipelines, contacts, budgeting with a definite start date.
- Use Flexitimers (and your other networks to access suitable work)


It is possible and it's easier than you think. Again, the point is to recognise and have the same confidence in yourself that employers have in you. One final point and I don't mean to sound flippant:
The money always comes in. I've been in full time, permanent, temporary, contract and freelance employment over the years and I've never missed a mortgage repayment; I've always been able to live (well) and take holidays. It's just a matter of confidence. YOU CAN HAVE THAT TOO!

Take the leap!
Lead the Life you want.
Best of luck!

Joy
Flexitimers

Labels: contracting, jobs, self-employed, work, work life balance