Coming Out as a Part Timer

Part time working is only for students, mums with young children, and pensioners, right?

Part time workers aren’t as committed as full time workers, right?

You can’t have a career if you work part time, right?

Part time working has benefits for the individual, but their employer doesn’t benefit, right?

Well, wrong on all counts actually! And here’s a personal example of why…
In 2015, I took a career break to spend time doing voluntary work. I wanted to give something back to my local community, take on a completely new challenge, and learn some new skills. I spent a fantastic year volunteering, mainly with a great local charity in Hertford called Mudlarks.

Mudlarks supports adults and young people with learning disabilities and mental health issues, providing gardening therapy in their community garden and allotment. It was a great experience and it really exceeded my expectations in terms of what I got out of it.

When the time came to think about returning to work, I wanted to find a way to be able to combine this with my voluntary work at Mudlarks. The answer…part time working.

At Geolytix I found an organisation that not only shares my passion for Location Planning, but also where flexible working is an integral part of the culture. So now you’ll find me working on Network Strategy projects for some of the world’s leading brands from Monday to Thursday, and then on a Friday, I’ll be outdoors come rain, snow or blazing sunshine volunteering with the team at Mudlarks!

Am I any less committed than when I worked full time?  Absolutely not! If anything, I’m more committed because I genuinely value being able to carry on my career and also do my voluntary work, and that same level of commitment is evident in everyone at Geolytix.

With flexible working being a part of the Geolytix DNA, part time working is just one of the many ways that my colleagues and I are able to deliver great results for our customers and growth for the company, in a way that also works for our commitments outside work.

Does Geolytix get any benefit from flexible working?  Blair (CEO) certainly believes so…”Flexible, including part-time working, totally works for us. Over half our leadership team work part time. A business is a collective, a group of people pooling their talents to achieve shared aspirations. Having the very best people committing to that collective is what makes Geolytix work. Every colleague can choose how to split their precious time to create a lifestyle that works financially, professionally and emotionally”

So from my perspective….

Part time working does work for professional occupations

Part time working can be for everyone

Part time workers are just as committed as full time workers

You can have a career if you work part time

Part time working has benefits for the individual and for their employer

…employers just need to wake up to the opportunities offered by flexible working and trust their employees!