Maintaining a positive work/family life balance - flexible working at DCMS

In support of Celebrating Family Month  we spoke to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport about how their organisation’s culture enables parents to maintain a positive work/family life balance.

Speaking directly to two members of staff, they shared how their respective compressed hours and part-time flexible working patterns enables them to deliver their work effectively, and also be able to prioritise their family.

“Working compressed hours has without a doubt changed my life. I joined DCMS from a private sector company where overtime was an expectation. After I had my daughter I realised that that lifestyle wouldn't work for my family but worried about the financial implication of working part time. When offered the role at DCMS I was consulted on what working pattern would work for me, compressed hours (whereby I earn a full-time salary and work full-time hours but across 4 days instead of 5) made total sense. There are days when I have to leave early to pick up my daughter but having the option to log on later or start work a little earlier takes away any pressure or guilt that working parents sometimes feel!” - Jelena 

“When I started at DCMS I had returned to the world of work as a first-time parent, this was back in 2020, and I still remember how easy the conversation around flexible working went. I initially joined part-time four days a week and have since changed my working pattern, still part-time but across five days which works brilliantly for me and my family. The option to use flexi-time (where I take time off for any hours I accrue over my contracted hours) has also helped me navigate the numerous appointments, nursery parties and pesky colds. The flexibility available has allowed me to establish a healthy balance between my career and my personal/family life, which I am very grateful for.” - Cylina 

In addition to flexibility around working patterns, DCMS has a significant amount of support in place for working parents. The Parenting Network  is a departmental staff-led group of volunteers set up by parents to support those with parenting responsibilities across the department.

They look to: 

• Empower those with parenting responsibilities by creating a space to explore issues relevant to parenting;
• Build a supportive community to exchange views, share good practices and information;
• Act as a support mechanism for the parenting community, providing advice and giving a collective voice on issues affecting parents.

If you want to work for an organisation that values working parents and is committed to creating a culture and enabling working patterns which facilitate a work/ family life balance, then see what opportunities are available at DCMS.