I returned to work part-time after the birth of my son and it seems like nothing I do ever pleases my manager
Q. I returned to work part-time after the birth of my son and it seems like nothing I do ever pleases my manager. My workmates drop sarcastic comments about not pulling my weight. Recently my employer announced he wanted to review my work arrangements. What can I do?
A. Research has shown that career progression can take a real hit when women employees adopt flexible work arrangements.
Part of the problem comes from the perception of colleagues that part time work isn’t ‘pulling your weight’, and of managers that employees on flexible arrangements are an inconvenience.
So what can women working under flexible arrangements do to secure their position?
Learn to use your negotiation skills (for your own cause). Research undertaken for the Australian Women & Leadership Forum shows that women have a lower propensity to negotiate than men. This is important because women may assume they will be recognised for working hard.
If you lack the confidence needed for self-promotion, it doesn’t matter. Marshal the data on your work performance (achievement of KPIs, outputs, examples of initiative shown) and make the case like you would any other business presentation. Let the data do the talking. This approach shows professionalism. Use the data to put your variable availability on the table as an asset to your employer, given the project-oriented nature of professional workloads, and remember that responsibility for managing your own workload is jointly shared with your manager.
Build your network. If you feel your position is vulnerable, and your manager is not taking your achievements seriously, don’t wait for the chop, use your personal and professional networking skills to create a safety net – a contingency plan, in case it comes time to leave. If you feel uncomfortable about networking, you can talk about your work and your interests instead, and always remember the value of your social contacts in helping you land on your feet when a position turns sour.
Don’t let yourself become ‘rusted on’ or taken for granted. But if this happens, don’t be afraid to gather your data and take yourself to market. What you may not realise is what an attractive employment prospect you may be – business operators love an undervalued property – but to negotiate a better opportunity you need to make sure you don’t undervalue yourself. Job changes are good like that – they are a chance to review your worth, and most people find that theprocess offers only pleasant surprises.
Manage unfavourable perceptions. You need to manage the perceptions of colleagues. Have a timetable marking out your office hours and stick to it, so it doesn’t look to workmates like you wander in and out of work at will. Be realistic in your time estimates.
Be upfront about queuing up work, and insist on your manager making decisions about priority. That’s crucial to making sure your colleagues can’t say you ‘over promise’. Use a system others can view, such as Google Calendar, which is easy to use, gives you control over who can see what calendar, and allows you to create different colour-coded calendars for different projects and record completion dates. Your work progress can be seen at a glance. Any system will do, as long as there’s one, because you won’t remember the details if an issue comes up in six or twelve months’ time.
Whenever possible, get your instructions in writing. When you have the data easily to hand, others will quickly learn it’s a bad move to question your efficacy.
By Daniel Reeders, Content Developer, Workplace Training Advisory Australia
