“I think the optimal solution – just like kids – changes all the time.” Ciara Garvan wanted flexible work that could fit around her three children, and having spotted a gap in the market, founded WorkJuggle.com, an agency that matches people to flexible roles. Here, she talks about her SAHM days, her optimistic expectation of a ...
“I feel guilty sometimes for feeling guilty and the space this takes up in my head when I could be more focused on the girls instead.” Avril Tierney is a Dub living in Laois with her husband and two little girls, and she has not one but two jobs – she works for a charity, and ...
Once upon a time, when I worked a lot more hours than I do now, I felt like I never had quality time with my kids. Each night when they went to bed, I thought about how another day had slipped by without me noticing. I would try to think back to conversations and interactions ...
I remember the first time my Laser card was rejected. It was 2010, and I was just back at work after my second maternity leave. I was trying to buy some groceries, and couldn’t understand why my card wouldn’t go through. I checked my balance. Forty-three cents. Mid-way through the month. It took a few hours for it all to sink ...
"Ireland is better than the US but not as good as Scandinavia," I said to the public policy student who was sitting beside me, "I'd say we fall somewhere in the middle." We were at "Families and Work: A Chance for Change", a seminar organised by Start Strong, the National Women's Council and ICTU, ahead of ...
My friend was not impressed. A 5pm conference call that was scheduled to last two hours. So instead of using his office phone, he dialled in on his mobile. At 6, he left work, still on the call. He walked to the train station, took the train home, got tea organised for his kids, and ...
Arriving home from work one evening last week, I realised that there was a big, weetabixy handprint encrusted on the back of my trousers. Just about toddler-hug height. There since before I left the house at 7am; visible all day at work. Morto, as they say. Oh well, no time to sit around hand-wringing; there was ...