PODCAST | Ep.3 Part time pioneers

World Changers

Delving in to our World Changer on flexible working, our podcast host Elle Bradley-Cox explores part time pioneers

What does your working day look like now? I’ll bet you a breakroom brew and a biscuit that it’s quite different to your pre-pandemic schedule.

For many of us, the office-based 9-5, as we knew it, is well and truly a thing of the past. As hybrid working ushers in the potential to design our days, first by necessity, then by normalisation, there’s an expectation that this flexibility will help us to better balance our work and life commitments.

So, does a more fluid way of working help banish burnout? Does less physical presence lead to less trust from leaders? And will flexibility for all finally begin to stop the stigma that surrounds parents who go part-time?

Guest interview

Matt Manners, chief inspiration officer, Inspiring Workplaces

Want to skip to a specific section? Here‘s what we talked about:

00:00 Intro to the episode.

01:19 Roundtable with Elle, Lu and Patrick

01:22 What inspired to you tackle this topic?
02:47 Are you both card-carrying advocates for flexibility?
03:41 Lu, you became a mum last year - did this change your perspective on the 9-5?
04:48 Patrick, how do you feel about flexibility as a Dad?
05:53 How can leaders help pave the way?
08:49 Is flexibility carrying through to front-line industries, too?
10:09 Do you have any examples of organisations really championing flexibility?

14:01 Interview with Matt Manners, Inspiring Workplaces

15:05 Tell us about your decision to trial the 4 day working week.
16:48 What has the impact been?
19:19 Is there a risk of a negative impact on collaboration and team cohesion?
21:37 What learnings would you pass on to organisations thinking of trialling it?
22.54 Are more unusual flexible perks, like paid sabbaticals, a fad or a shift that's here to stay?
25:21 How do you think we can create more fairness in flexibility?
26:54 Who do you nominate as your 2022 World Changer?

Get the transcript