Building a career presents many challenges for any professional. Career-oriented professionals with families with a completely different set of challenges than single ones. Long hours can be required but working intelligently rather than hard is more important in today’s data-driven world. Employers will be impressed by those with top production numbers regardless of how many hours worked. Star employees usually have a much different set of expectations and freedoms that average employees might not have. The balancing act is essential for those building a career, as you do not want to neglect your family or employer. Below are tips to help balance building a fantastic career while staying present for your spouse and children.
Trusted Care For Your Children
Finding the right school or childcare provider is a top priority for many families. You want peace of mind that your child is going to be in a safe environment where they can thrive both socially and academically. Finding the right child care in Raleigh or another booming city full of professional opportunities can be so valuable. There are going to be places that have a schedule of lessons that allows students to get ahead of their peers.
Remote Work Requests
Working remotely can be a godsend if you are a parent. You can take your kids to school and pick them up which always accounts for quality time. Working a remote role might be possible or even a hybrid work schedule. Getting into the routine of working remotely is going to be of paramount importance. Most companies just want deadlines to be hit and have flexible working hours. Most companies are not willing to let go of a top performer simply because they are asked to work remotely. Sales professionals are a great example as they can usually sell online or via phone/email with quality leads that are provided.
Unplug At A Certain Time Daily
You are going to need to be completely present for your kids. You do not want time with them to be tarnished by whatever is going on at work. Most people are not expected to answer during all times of the day or night and ask about on-call pay if you are expected to do so. Most employers will backtrack as they do not own your time outside of the office regardless of what overzealous managers believe.
Utilize All Of Your PTO
There is a trap that some employers get employees into of not taking PTO. You need to spend time with your family completely unplugged from work. Quality time is not spent looking at your phone for an email that can wait a few days for a response. Your children realize when you are not 100 percent present for them due to checking emails, calls, and texts from work. Take the time to book vacations early as you want to be approved to take your PTO. Employers that value employees won’t try to change your plans at the last minute but those that look at employees like a revenue number will. Ultimately, working with a company that understands your family is more important than any production number you can hit.
