Balancing a career with family life isn’t always easy, but at Mott MacDonald, creating a truly family-friendly workplace is a priority. From dedicated support networks to policies that make life easier for parents, the company is committed to helping employees thrive both at work and at home.

In this Q&A, we hear from two people who bring different perspectives on what makes Mott MacDonald a great place for working parents:

• Ruth Hopgood Lead of the Parents ERG, on the impact of community and advocacy for working parents.
• Simon Johnson, Technical Director, who recently returned from parental leave, on their experience and the support they received.

How the parents ERG is making a difference

Ruth Hopgood, Lead of the Parents ERG, shares how the network supports working parents.

Can you tell us about the Parents ERG and why it was created?
The Sunshine Parents and Carers network started in UK East Region as a sub-group of the regional Advance teams to provide networking and support to parents and carers in the region. When the characteristic-based networks were later set up across EUNA, it was expanded and brought into the wider EUNA network space. It exists to provide support to parents through an online Viva Engage network, the Sunshine Parents and Carers Network, to host events of interest to parents and carers and to provide a link to the EUNA policymakers on family friendly offerings.

What initiatives has the network introduced to support working parents?
The Advance Network has given us a link directly to a Board champion, to feedback areas of concern that can be considered in future policies. We have worked with the HR family support team to comment on family friendly guidance before it’s issued, and we host events such as webinars on areas of interest to parents and carers.

How does having a dedicated community benefit parents at different career stages?
The members of the community are all at different stages of their parent/carer journey so there is always someone who is going through similar challenges and can give practical advice and support to other members of the network, and help make sense of changes in national policy as they live through them together.  

What challenges do working parents typically face, and how does the ERG help address them?
Parents and carers face all sorts of challenges from changes in the law to what support is out there for parents/carers, how to best use agile working, deciding what tech to get for their children or elderly relatives or even what buggy/car seat/bike to buy. No question is too trivial for our group.

What advice would you give to parents trying to balance career growth with family responsibilities?
Work out your priorities and then try to find a work pattern to fit round them. With agile working, there are so many variations. And look after yourself – you can’t do everything so make time for yourself and if something in your life has to give, don’t be afraid to make that choice.

Returning from parental leave: a first-hand experience

Simon Johnson, Technical Director, who recently returned from parental leave, reflects on their journey back to work.

How did Mott MacDonald support you during your parental leave?

In the run up to my shared parental leave my colleagues were amazing in taking on and sharing out my workload. I took over 4 months off so everything had to be completely picked up by someone else. They also gave me a very generous gift to start my time away, and my new family life! While I was away they gave me the most important thing – completely switching off from work. No one contacted me asking for help or a reminder of something. I think the best thing they did was leave me alone! Later on in my leave I had a few Keeping in Touch days which were great to understand what I would be coming back to.

What was your experience like transitioning back to work?

Very hard. Learning to look after a newborn (this was our first baby) was challenging, but as I was fortunate to take a long period of shared parental leave I didn’t immediately have to balance work and baby. Once I went back to work the juggle was real! It's not just lack of sleep, it’s the racing home to help, no more starting early or working late to get things done, and the guilt of being away from home. I took a lot of annual leave in those first few months back which helped to adjust. Working from home a bit more than normal also helped too.

Were there any policies or initiatives that made the return easier for you?

Understanding and flexibility from my colleagues and line manager as I found my feet with a new normal was key.

How have you found balancing work and family since coming back?

Everything needs much more planning! Where am I working this week? Who is doing drop off/pick-up? Who is working late or going out? The juggle needs much more planning. That also means last minutes changes are much more difficult. I can’t stay late because something needs finishing, or go out for drinks after work. As a result I have often had to work a bit extra in the evenings to catch up once my son is asleep – not ideal. One important change I made upon coming back to work was to step back from some of my management responsibilities. I saw this as key to managing my work/life balance over this stage in my family life. I believe its important in life, and over a long career, to actively choose when you want to prioritise work - doing overtime and pushing for that promotion, and when to prioritise family – getting the work done but going home on time and switching off from work. Right now I am prioritising family.

What advice would you give to others preparing for or returning from parental leave?