What does family mean to you?

How do you achieve work-life harmony?

As someone who has typically held roles that require a lot of travelling whilst juggling care responsibilities for my late mother, you must make it work for you. Start by building healthy habits around your non-negotiables. For example, I knew I had to work, care for my mum, care for my mental health and have a personal life. I did this by going to the gym earlier in the morning with friends, prioritising my lunch so I could enjoy that with my mum when working from home, logging off at an appropriate time so I could prioritise time with my family and having a robust combined ‘to-do’ list so I could manage my personal and professional priorities.

Has/how has Rolls-Royce supported you in being there for your family?

Rolls-Royce has been the perfect employer and I have had an overwhelming amount of support over the years. My late mother originally had a stroke in 2017 which left her paralysed and dependant on care. Rolls-Royce supported me through every appointment, enabled a flexible approach to my work, rewarded sacrifices I made that impacted my family and when she passed away in April last year, the level of support I received from my team and line manager was outstanding. I was able to devote time to my mother as she passed and be by her side because of the arrangements my manager and Rolls-Royce made; I will take that with me throughout my career.

How do you achieve work-life harmony?

It’s a delicate balancing act and feels like it sits atop shifting sands. No matter how much planning and preparation goes into it, no two days are the same and you have to expect the unexpected.

For me the harmony starts with honesty and transparency, wrapped up in a strong dose of reality. There are only so many hours in the day and not everything will go to plan. It’s all about being open with those around you about your responsibilities and caregiving needs. There is a lot of historical stigma associated with people finishing early to collect children, or not working late hours because of out-of-work commitments, but the modern world of hybrid work has dealt with a lot of it. In this new, more flexible world, parent carers can now make work “work” around family responsibilities.

How has Rolls-Royce supported you in being there for your family?

I work for a remarkably supportive People Leader and sit within an organisation that has been very understanding and accommodating. From the diagnosis of my son’s disability, through finding our feet and our ‘new normal’ and into emergency time off for hospital stays, the support at work has been incredible.

It's not all been plain sailing, there have been some pretty deep lows, but as more people have become aware of my situation the level of understanding and support has grown exponentially. My family is everything to me and my children are my top priority – nothing will change that. I have no shame in admitting it and I’m glad for people to know it. It doesn’t mean that I’m not focused on doing an awesome job at work, though. Being a parent makes me no less committed or capable.

I feel somewhat blessed to have the freedom to flex my start/finish times and catch- up hours outside of usual working times, where needed. In addition, as my wife works 12 hour shifts, there are fixed days that I need to be nursery drop off (08:00) and pick-up (16:00) which dictates my schedule. I have had a brilliant level of support with this. I also start earlier on my office days, so I can be home in time to support my wife with evening routine.

It's hard to imagine working anywhere else and replicating this level of support – I count myself incredibly lucky.

How do you achieve work-life harmony?

For me it is about being flexible and accepting that my work and family life are not mutually exclusive they coexist and overlap at times. Being kind to myself and remembering that I can’t do everything all the time and there will be times when I need focus on work, times when I need to focus on my family and times when I need to focus on myself, and that’s ok. It’s also about having open and honest conversations about it and asking for help when I need it.

Has/how has Rolls-Royce supported you in being there for your family?

I have worked a number of different flexible working arrangements over the years supported by various managers that have allowed me to flex my roles to work in a way that allows me to be at my best for both work and my family at that particular time. I’ve been actively encouraged and able to attend my daughters school events as well as regularly being able to do some school drop offs and pick up.

How do you achieve work-life harmony?

We all have different ways of handling our work life balance. In my opinion, you have to be strong and force that balance. My personal preference is to work later while in the office, but not take my work home into the evenings unless absolutely necessary.

Has/how has Rolls-Royce supported you in being there for your family?

Rolls-Royce treats me as an adult and doesn’t micromanage me. They allow me to buy additional annual leave if I need to or adopt flexible ways of working if I need to spend more time caring for family matters.

Family is peaceful time for me. We work hard as a family to stay in the present and enjoy each other’s company without the expectations of work/fast pace of life in general. I’m one of four so from a relatively large family where we’re all close so enjoy spending our free time together. My mum is the focal point of the family and is integral to our closeness.

I can’t say that I’ve achieved a work-life harmony as it’s always a work in progress where the pendulum swings throughout the year. The key for me is making sure that overall it equals out. I couldn’t do this without my husband. We schedule the week so we know that at least one of us is always there at breakfast and home in the evening and switch accordingly with work demands. We both work for Rolls-Royce so the company has really supported this by allowing us both to work flexibly.

How do you achieve work-life harmony?

By honouring myself through the ultimate act of self- care – maintaining a boundary. In order to do well I need to be well, ensuring I do not regularly over commit to work or home enables me to be my best more of the time. Ensuring I have time for my brain to rest from work or home duties means I get better results, paddle boarding gives me the opportunity to rest my brain.

Has/how has Rolls-Royce supported you in being there for your family?

Hybrid working means the days I am not travelling for work I can use this time to take my daughter to school. The opportunity to buy additional annual leave offers me a welcome level of flexibility should I need it.