Being a working mum: Georgie Woods, Minister of Culture

About your job

Who do you work for? Sipsmith

And what industry are you in? Gin (FMCG)

Who’s at home with you?

My boy (5 and a half)

My girl (3, going on 18)

My Man (mid thirties going on 18)

My furry four legged (and best) friend

Oh and one last one on the way …

And who’s in your support team?

Granny (my mum)

Nanny (my mother in law)

What does your work and career mean to you?

A huge amount – it’s where I exercise my independence and my ‘adult’ brain and get to learn something for myself.  I enjoy working, as it gives me a different sense of purpose to what I feel from being a Mum, I love the feedback I get from working hard (as you don’t get this from your kids in the same way, or at least it has to be self-realised) and I also appreciate the benefits of working in terms of financial independence etc.

What have you enjoyed most about going back to work?

Hot coffee and eating what I want to for lunch!  No seriously … probably the interaction with other people who have a similar purpose.  I’m lucky because I work for an excellent company with the best people, who I genuinely look forward to working with (apart from after a sleepless night).  So, work for me offers a little bit of change in amongst the ‘Mumming routine’, which I also love.

What’s the toughest part of being a working mum?

The juggle and the guilt. 

The turning up to work as if you hadn’t just helped dress, feed, walk, negotiate with, wipe bottoms, taxi to school (amongst many other things) two smaller individuals as well as getting yourself ready and fed… the ‘act’ as it were, that you’ve got your sh*t together and you’re not as knackered as your body and eyes feel.  

And then at the end of the day, as you shut down your lap top, or close out the meeting and rush (willingly!) to get them from where they are and spend perhaps a rushed hour, and probably a hellish one because you are all so knackered from your days at school/nursery/work, tea-bath-and-bedding them, before you finally feed yourself (and your partner) and slump into a chair to watch only part of a programme you’ve wanted to see because you’ve fallen asleep again before 8:30.

Then the guilt, that you are not spending enough time with them, and then not doing your all for work. 

Of course, you probably are doing both because otherwise your kids wouldn’t like you and you’d be sacked – so these are the internal voices that self-berate so regularly … but are hard to ignore.

We know many mums work flexibly. What does your working week look like?

I used to work full time and returned to work 4 days a week after both kids. Recently (about 9 months ago) I went down to 3 days to create a little more space with the kids. I believe a working Mum on 4 days gives a company as much as any other on 5 days, we just pack it in and juggle more. But 3 days has felt like a real shift, giving me more space and time with them as well as a little more down time, as my work is fast paced and although the kids are tiring, you run at a slower pace (or at least we try to!)

What’s your best advice to mums looking to secure a flexible working request?

Be confident in yourself and your ability first.  Just because you have had a baby (or 5!) doesn’t mean you have lost any of who you were before. In fact, you have probably gained many new skill sets as your work ethic will most likely have shifted to much more of a ‘ I will get this done because I don’t have time or any other option’, whereas without kids I personally had more flexibility about working longer hours and offering my hand up for more. In my head, this used to make a real difference to how I THOUGHT I was perceived but turns out I get the same output now as I did back then … just with less hours.

Secondly – ask your employer what they need from you and then put a case together that in turn, lays out clearly your needs and how your new flexible working request will benefit them.

It’s a two-way street and if they want a happy, motivated, hard working individual then supporting with some form of flexibility may well see them benefiting more from you.  If they can’t offer you some form of flex then consider whether they are the right employer for you?

What’s the best preparation you can do when you’re going back to work?

a) With your work

Speak to other mums who have done the same.

Ask for feedback from good friends and colleagues to help boost your own confidence as no matter what, it will have dipped (unnecessarily) in your time off.

And if you are reading this before you have even left, write yourself a pretend CV NOW about what you do. Give yourself a reference to summarise it all and get some real and written feedback from the peers/bosses that you respect.  Then wrap it up, put it in a box and open it when you are considering returning … it will be the greatest gift you give yourself to read those comments.

b) At home

As above. But also set your own boundaries – acknowledge what’s important to YOU and your family. What can’t you live without? What can you let go of? And then make sure that your working future is both a compromise but also uncompromising on the elements that are most important to you.

What one thing do you like to do for yourself every day?

Get some fresh air and my heart rate up. I’ve been terrible at this recently as have swapped it for a lunchtime pregnancy nap … but I will always do one of those things.

And finally, what’s your absolute top tip to working mums to help you stay sane?

Be up front with everyone around you (from husbands to children to colleagues to bosses) – set your own narrative, explain your needs, share it with them and play by it. Obviously within reason, but being clear with those who care about me about what I can and can’t do has helped me hugely.