Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s Post

Family support plays a crucial role in balancing work and personal life. It can provide emotional encouragement, practical help with childcare or household tasks, and a sense of stability. Balancing family and work involves several key strategies: 1. Prioritization: Determine what's most important in both your family life and career, and allocate time accordingly. 2.Time Management: Use schedules and routines to effectively manage your time between work and family commitments. 3.Setting Boundaries: Establish clear boundaries between work and personal life to prevent one from encroaching on the other. 4.Communication: Keep open lines of communication with your family and employer to manage expectations and address any conflicts that arise. 5.Self-Care: Take care of your own physical and mental well-being to maintain the energy and resilience needed for both roles. 6.Flexibility and Adaptability: Be prepared to adjust plans and priorities as circumstances change in both your family and work life. Finding the right balance can be challenging and may require ongoing adjustments. Are there specific aspects of balancing family and work that you'd like more advice on?

Parents, how does your organization support you during the Back to School chaos? In my former life as an academic, I studied leaders' impact on their employees' work-life balance and consistently learned that flexibility is key. See below for some recent insights from our readers in our Vantage Point Newsletter, by Vantage Leadership Consulting.

Work life integration… “Is it even possible in social work practice” I hear you cry! 😕 The answer is an absolute YES! But it can take a lot of time, effort and training to cultivate. 🤗 Work life integration isn’t about having a 50/50 balance, and can feel impossible when we are zoomed in on the challenges. Here are 3 quick tips to get you started: 🔑Schedule your time and stick to it as much as possible. Your nervous system loves and needs the safety of structure. 🔑Set clear standards in discussions with managers and/or employees, explain where you can be flexible and where you have to draw hard lines. 🔑Take your TOIL and annual leave! Trust me, you aren’t saving anyone’s life by neglecting your own. Bonus: Taking care of you IS taking care of the vulnerable children and families on your caseload. Neglecting your needs only means your families will suffer the consequences later when you are too unwell to work. 💭Want to get specific support around how you can begin to embed nervous system regulation practices? 💭Struggling with scheduling time for you? 💭Dealing with the challenging feelings of guilt, stress and overwhelm? ——————————————————- Natalie here 👋supporting social workers and Local Authorities to enhance emotional and mental resilience at every layer of practice through Nervous System Regulation training. DM me to create your free personalised #RegulationToolkit or email info@thesocialife.co.uk to find out more about how The Social Life can help you or your organisation to flourish

Do you feel supported at work during the chaos of back-to-school season? We recently asked our newsletter subscribers to share the most significant changes their workplace could make to better support them at this time of year. The results are in: - 80% urge companies to re-evaluate their childcare and parental leave policies and ensure they meet the evolving needs of working parents. - 60% say that a more lenient remote work policy is preferable all year round but a necessity at this time of year.  - 40% advocate for a shift towards a results-oriented team compact, focusing on measurable outcomes instead of hours clocked. Other priorities included: training managers on supporting employees with family responsibilities; implementing wellness programs with counselling services & stress management workshops; improving collaboration tools for efficient cross-functional work. These results challenge organizations to better support working parents, fostering flexible and family-friendly workplaces. How has your organization been adapting? Share your experiences. #WorkLifeBalance #BackToSchool #ParentalLeave #RemoteWork #FlexibleWork

Can a mum of 4 really achieve a successful work-life balance? As I contemplate my return to full time work in a new exciting role, in a new work place in September, I find myself pondering whether women can really have it all? Can we successfully carve out a career for ourselves whilst raising a happy and healthy family? My family unit consists of a loving and very supportive partner who himself is striving to achieve great things in the workplace and champions for young people each day, a 12 year old daughter heading into Year 8, a 10 year old son, entering his last year in primary school, a 4 year old boy who is about to start Reception and an 18 month old boy currently in a nursery setting. Here are some of the things which we have recently been busy trying to organise to try and make our family’s life as smooth as it can be come September. 1. Meal prep and food planning: spending Sunday afternoons with my daughter meal prepping, home cooked meals for the week ahead Pinterest Recipes 2. Having the weekly food shop delivered Tesco 3. Prioritising diary events: Looking at the diary one term at a time, prioritising key events and dates together with my partner to see where there might be any clashes or adjustments to be made and ensuring that we are both able to fulfil our work commitments, pulling on our extending support network if needed 4. Planning for inset training days: Look at the whole academic year to plan activities and child care for the children whose inset days across 3 different schools/nurseries often do not align 5. Having social days/events to look forward to ahead: Having one or two events as a couple or a family planned ahead gives everyone extra motivation and something to look forward to when the days get busy. A family trip to Butlins is booked in our calendar ready for us to enjoy in October half term Butlin's 6. Clubs: Take advantage of extra curricular clubs on offer for the children, before and after school. Not only will these enhance skills for the children but can also be taken advantage of to arrange meetings and appointments 7. Bedtime: For me, being there each night to do the bedtime routine and read that bedtime story is an absolute must and is a time of day that I cherish BookTrust 8. Establish routines and clear expectations: Ensure that all of the family understand the routine for each day, help children to understand their role and responsibilities and promote that saying that ‘Team work makes the dream work’ What tips do you have for ensuring that a work life balance is achieved whilst raising a family? WomenEd I know that as a leader I will continue to advocate for a healthy work life balance for all employees and believe that this is the key to work place productivity. Department for Education Essex County Council

How to balance work and motherhood? Balancing work and motherhood can be challenging, but with thoughtful planning and self-care, it is possible to create a fulfilling and manageable routine. Here are some tips to help you balance work and motherhood: 4. Effective Time Management:    - Use time management techniques such as the Pomodoro Technique or time blocking to enhance productivity during work hours. Break your day into focused work intervals with short breaks in between. 5. Delegate and Seek Help:    - Don't hesitate to delegate tasks at work and seek support from family, friends, or hired help for childcare responsibilities. Sharing responsibilities can alleviate some of the pressure. 6. Communication with Employer:    - Open communication with your employer about your needs and challenges is crucial. Discuss flexible work arrangements, such as remote work options or flexible hours, if possible.

For working parents, managing career and family is a key priority. This is not surprising, as recent studies have shown that employees are more likely to stay with organisations that have a healthy work-life culture.

📣📣 New research suggests that working parents are finding it harder to juggle both their work-life and care for their children, with over 56% stating that they find the balancing act challenging. People need to know that their employer understands working parents’ needs and responsibilities, so it’s important to implement and open culture and seek feedback from employees. In Workplace Wellbeing’s latest article, Vicky Walker, our Group Director of People, provides practical insights on how employers can ensure their working parents receive the necessary support: 👀👇 #WorkingParents #WorkplaceWellbeing #WorkLifeBalance 

🌟 On July 28th, we celebrate National Parents' Day, a time to honour the dedication and love of parents who balance their professional and personal lives. Sylvia Ingle, Assistant Vice President at Delta Capita, shares her insights on navigating this balance and achieving a fulfilling work-life harmony. ⏰ Sylvia emphasises that work-life balance is not about finding a perfect formula for time allocation but about being fully present in each moment. Her journey as a new mum highlights the value of quality time and attentiveness, demonstrating that even brief, focused interactions can be more meaningful than longer, distracted ones. 🔗 Read the full blog here to discover practical tips, personal insights, and actionable steps to help parents manage their responsibilities effectively, creating a fulfilling family and work life: https://lnkd.in/eAkDn5JE #NationalParentsDay #WorkLifeBalance #Reinventing #Wellness

As we wrap up another school half-term, my thoughts are with working parents managing the juggle of childcare and their career 🙃 It isn't easy and many of you may have the eye twitch[es] to prove it, just like me 🤣 🌟 Exciting news: Starting April 2024, a new Act (Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act) enables employees to submit a flexible working request from day one of their employment. A positive step toward supporting work-life balance! 🌟 #FlexibleWorking #WorkLifeBalance #Parenting #CareerUpdates