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Britain’s
Bosses Missing Out on Talented Parents
A new survey
for
Family Friendly Working shows that talented parents are leaving the
world of employment.
Britain’s
bosses are missing out on skilled employees due to a combination of the
lack of flexible hours and the cost of childcare. And the parents who
are leaving are continuing to develop their skills too both with the
family, by retraining, and in their own businesses.
Unsurprisingly
the top talents developed by parents are Multitasking (68.4%) and Time
Management (65.3%). But more than half (55.3%) of the parents who
responded to the survey have developed Promotion and Marketing Skills
and almost as many (45.3%) have developed better Communication Skills.
Mums and Dads
are getting better at managing money too, with nearly 4 in 10 (39.2%)
saying that they have developed their Financial Management Skills after
leaving work. A similar number (37.6%) have improved Project Planning
Skills since quitting employment.
Parents’
people skills are getting a great workout too. Three in 10 (30.7%)
parents claim to have developed better Conflict Management Skills, and
one in five (20%) have better Team Management Skills since leaving
employment.
Director of
Family Friendly Working Antonia Chitty says, “I know that I’ve
developed my skills since I left employment and it looks like I’m not
alone. Britain’s’ bosses need to think hard about offering more flexible
work opportunities in order to make the most of talented parents.”
Parents
completing the survey have commented on their post-employment
experiences:
“I have learnt a lot since then!
More importantly I have learnt a lot about myself, maintaining a
positive mental attitude, social networking, enterprise and more.”
“I ended up returning to education
and finally getting the degree I always wanted.”
“Starting my business has meant my
time management has to be good so that my children get the best of me
and I still have time to put into work.”
“In 2006 I published my first book,
with a five month old baby and two older kids. Truly a new start for
me.”
“I retrained as reflexologist so
had a complete career change. I had to learn about running my own
business and marketing myself.” |
