Caron Loudy from Greenwich Dance Agency, and Anna Mansell from Dance4 explore the issue of workplace flexibility from the perspective of the working mother.
Caron Loudy
Having initially trained as a dancer, working at Greenwich Dance Agency (GDA) seemed a great way for me to develop my career as a community artist while retaining flexibility to work as a teacher and performer. However, during this period my personal circumstances changed drastically: when I started work in 2001 I was a single woman, and my life was my work. Five years later I have new priorities to consider two young sons.
I am aware that my position is by no means unique: many women have to juggle a career with being a mother. However I do feel particularly fortunate regarding the degree of flexibility that GDA has afforded me. In tandem with the changes that took place in my life, GDA was also undergoing a process of change. The agency grew in size and stature, while the dance landscape in London altered significantly. Consequently, returning to work after the birth of my first child created a whole range of fresh challenges. My job share colleague had decided not to return to work following the birth of her son, and in my absence it had been necessary to appoint a new part-time worker: the job share was split into two related, but distinctly different jobs.
These new circumstances and the new responsibility (my son!) meant that I found myself focusing harder on specific areas of work. Goals were set with a tighter time-frame, leaving me both exhausted and frustrated that targets were not being met. However, I was also afforded more independence, setting my hours to suit both my workload and my responsibilities outside work. Developments in the organisation allowed me to let go of some of the detail without losing control over the activities themselves.
For some, returning to work allows little room for professional development, but Im happy to report that my experience was quite the opposite. Instead of attempting to fit a square peg into a round hole, GDA took the opportunity to assess my role and adapt it to suit both my needs and the requirements of the organisation. Because more of my time was being spent in the office as opposed to at the coal face, I became more adept at overseeing rather than delivering projects. I included a Saturday morning in my working hours, and when I fell pregnant again, a temporary replacement oversaw the development of our new youth company.
I now work 19 hours a week and set my own hours. Im lucky to work with a director with a child the same age as my own. This not only means we can have endless discussions about our little darlings without boring each other rigid, but that he supports me personally as a working mother. Children falling ill can be disastrous when working to a deadline, and this is perhaps the best illustration of the worst part of my work/life balance: feeling terrible about dropping my colleagues in it, because I cant be here all the time.
Despite this, I have now reached a point in my career where I feel empowered and positive. Its a delicate balance, but one thats achievable and manageable, with room for movement should the situation change in the future.
Caron Loudy is Community and Education Co-ordinator at Greenwich Dance Agency.
t: 020 8293 9741;
e: info@greenwichdance.org.uk;
w: http://www.greenwichdance.org.uk