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Kim, who has a flexible working arrangement, is Enterprise and Research Project Manager at The Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources (BSEER).
Tell us a bit about yourself – what is your position within the Bartlett and what kind of tasks do you usually do?
I am the Research and Contracts Manager for BSEER and manage a team of seven administrative staff supporting research activity, including grant applications, reporting and managing four research centres.
How do you use the opportunity for flexible working?
I have two arrangements: firstly, an occupational health recommendation that I work from home six days a month to help manage pain and tiredness caused by arthritis and fibromyalgia; secondly, I am working an extra two hours a week from home. This allows me to leave the office early once a week to visit my mum who is in a London hospital recovering from a stroke.
How would your work-life balance change without flexible working?
As I live 35 miles from London, visiting my Mum after work would add considerably to my day, and I am sure this would increase my tiredness, which in turn, would likely add to my health problems. Not commuting one or two days a week makes me less tired, and being at home means I seem to achieve a lot of work.
What are the main benefits you take from flexible working?
In the short term it is allowing me to visit my Mum on a regular basis. In the long term, I am able to better manage my health issues and still have an amazing job. Having regular working-at-home days allows me to perform at my best both when I am in the office and at home. I am able to undertake complex work tasks, which are sometimes difficult in a busy open-plan office. I keep in regular contact with my staff and join meetings via Skype. I also log in via a VPN [Virtual Private Network] to access work systems, which is a great innovation provided by UCL.
How supportive was your department in setting up a flexible working pattern?
My Manager has been very helpful in allowing the arrangement and ensuring I am still informed about what is going on and supporting my team.
My colleagues know they can always contact me when I am out of the office, and several also have flexible working arrangements to cover child care, reduce commuting, visit relatives and complete projects.
Knowing the department allows flexibility also means the whole admin team are flexible about staying late to support an event or deal with an urgent issue. It has helped us reinforce the importance of maintaining a work-life balance, and added to a positive general working atmosphere.
What are the main challenges you face in flexible working (if any)?
It is important to ensure working hours and work from home days are communicated to colleagues. We use an on-line calendar to show whereabouts, as well as email bounce-backs. The other essential is to be disciplined and still deliver your work, but that is not difficult when there is a positive working relationship with managers and colleagues.