I joined OCA after a career break of nearly 5 years. My kids had just started school and I wanted to work school hours only. Since then, I have successfully managed several of OCA’s ongoing projects, provided technical input into others, and led the delivery of OCA proposals and bidding, without any negative impacts from with my reduced working hours.
There have been some unexpected benefits too. During lockdown home-schooling, working late in the evening increased overlap with American colleagues and benefited the projects we were working on at that time. During school holidays, working condensed hours has reduced the amount of non-working time needed, provided continuity to projects and clients, and helped with project resourcing. And throughout this, I have been able to get back into a career that had been “on hold” and support my children outside of school hours.
To successfully create an environment that supports flexible working, a company needs a forward thinking and agile mindset, and strong mutual trust between employees and employer. OCA is genuinely committed to fostering both of these and is a great example of the benefits that this attitude can realise.
