It started one day, in the middle of a conference call, when the school called: ” Are you the mother of E. and O.? Please come to pick up your twins. They haven´t eaten lunch today and seem to have fever.”
….I knew this moment would come one day. My husband works full-time and I do too. Grandparents live far away, and friends are there, but to grab the children spontaniously? They might be doing some other exciting things at the moment or follow their jobs as well. So what to do?
What´s this Work-Life Balance? Work-life balance is a broad concept including proper prioritizing between “work” (career and ambition) on one hand and “life” (health, pleasure, leisure, family) on the other hand. As far as the difficulties in balancing work with family-life are concerned, having children has a strong impact on the occupation rate of women in general.
«Female entrepreneurs do not view their businesses as separate economic entities but rather as endeavors entwined with other aspects of their lives – particularly their familial relationships and responsibilities» (Jennings and Brush, 2013)
Women entrepreneurs de facto ‘struggle to achieve work–family balance in practice’ and that entrepreneurship may not be a relief for achieving such balance. We also know from conversations with people that this is not a subject that is openly discussed and there remains a significant number of anxieties about whether it is possible to balance work and have a life; what are the expectations from people up the line; how do people
do it in practice and what’s the right way for you?
….So what did I do that day when the school called to pick up the kids? At P&L Global we are granted with an exceptional top management. Mrs Isabel Vinagre, CEO at P&L Global , recognizes the need to know the children are ok and settled to be able to do
the job as best as possible. So she would let me leave the office to pick up the kids because she knows that I will catch up the work another day.
The affiliative style of leadership puts people and their needs first. Often, employees are more productive when you allow them to work flexible schedules. Often your employees feel more balanced when they are given the autonomy to vary the duties they perform throughout the day. As a coach, you are in the position to learn more about your employees and their various interests, family ties and career goals. With a work-life balanced solution in mind, it’s your responsibility to create schedules based on your employees’ need for outside stimulation, additional training and time off to rest and enjoy outside activities and a family. When employees are at work, you expect them to give you their complete attention to complete the tasks for the day. By making time off mandatory, you create an environment that supports your expectations of compliance with your work requirements.
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