Flexible work arrangements

This #thankyouthursday, I am grateful for flexible work arrangements.

The last two weeks have been a little hectic. My family took not one but two trips out of state, and overall I’d say we spent about sixteen hours on the road and at least eight on planes.

(Although, since all of that was with a toddler, it felt more like 87 hours, and a lot of them were rough. 😳😬😅)

So we’ve been traveling for six of the last ten workdays, and during that time my partner started a new job and my company launched a new website, the content of which I’m largely responsible for. Plus I got sick, my kid got sick, and my partner got sick, all at different times.

Like I said, it’s been a little hectic.

But one thing I haven’t worried about is my job. Because although I care a lot about my work and my colleagues, I care more about my family and the opportunities we had to connect with our loved ones.

And I am so fortunate to be part of a company that values flexible work arrangements.

I know not everyone has the ability to negotiate for flexible work arrangements, which makes me even more grateful that I do. I very intentionally pivoted my career path in 2017 to prioritize working remotely, and it was the best decision I ever made.

Five years later, I have a leadership role at an organization where I get to choose my own hours, I’m trusted to handle my responsibilities, and I’m both encouraged and expected to candidly communicate.

Honestly, it’s probably because of flexible work arrangements that I have a job at all. Because becoming a mother during a pandemic has been very challenging, and as much as I value my professional identity, I don’t know that I could have held on to it if I hadn’t been able to do so on my own terms.

And now that my spouse also has a job where he can arrange his hours to accommodate our family’s needs, I feel doubly, extra, especially grateful for flexible work arrangements.

We are both intelligent, creative people who are perfectly able to alternate work commitments with changing loads of laundry, preparing meals, and navigating child care solutions. I’m so glad our flexible work arrangements allow us to be…us.

Love > fear,
Christina