WAW 02: reduce your hours and retain your salary with Vern O’Sullivan

Did you know it’s possible to reduce your work days and retain your full time salary? Neither did I!

Vern O’Sullivan is the Senior Marketing Specialist at Chartered Accountants ANZ with almost 20 years’ experience in marketing and communications, who now has one little girl and an amazing story of how she manages her career and salary.

In today’s conversation we talk about

* How Vern negotiated working four days following her maternity leave, while retaining her full-time salary

* How preparation for the week ahead helps keep things on track, and some practical tips for getting organised:

* Have a family calendar

* Communicate clearly with your partner

* How efficient working mothers are, and how the way we approach work makes us desirable

* The fact that your direct manager is potentially more important than company policy in providing flexible work options

* How we often feel like a burden when we’re asking others for help, but we are happy to offer help, so the paradigm needs to shift

* That Dads need help too, and how the workplace can make it easier for men to be involved with their families and children

* Final tip: have the conversation with your employer to start achieving more flexibility

If I was in a position to hire people I would look for working mums, because they are multi taskers, they get things done, and they’re reliable.

Further Reading

Working mothers are definitely the most efficient people in the workplace:

* https://qz.com/802254/the-ultimate-efficiency-hack-have-kids/

* https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/10/30/study-women-with-more-children-are-more-productive-at-work/?utm_term=.f81cabea4034