It seems so many people have had the same time-line. Work for years, lay all the paving slabs on the career path, then put it all on hold when the patter of tiny feet come along. Every year in the West, there are millions of births, and so many of them lead to a major depletion in the workforce. All those lawyers, all those mechanics and all those accountants enjoy their new-found parental status, but why should they be completely lost to employers?
While many parents return to gainful employment soon afterwards, there are many thousands that simply don’t. Those that decide to stay at home, not wanting to miss out on the formative years of their children’s lives, are part of a huge, and generally untapped, source of skills, experience and ideas.
There are many companies who simply can’t find enough qualified staff through conventional methods. They’ve placed ads in the papers, employed agencies to trawl through CVs, contacted the universities, but the vacancies still aren’t being filled. The square holes are just not being filled with square pegs. Yet many, many of those pegs are out there.
The prospect of missing out on the golden moments that come with parenthood makes a return to work a difficult thing to face. But there is an alternative now. Many companies will be desperate to find the right kind of qualified staff, and many will have already seen the advantages of using people working from home.
For the worker there are so many benefits, and the first of them is enjoyed before they even start work. Working from home means no commute, of course. So they can arrive at work in seconds, and never have to get stressed out by the rush hour traffic. In most cases, working from home can mean choosing when to start and when to finish the working day, which means fitting in the working time around the quality time.
The changing face of parenthood in the 21st century means today’s stay-at-homers are dads as well as mums, and all of them could be possible employees for companies that need those with the right skills and the right experience. And in every kind of industry there are potential employers for the right people.
The flexibility and convenience for home workers is an extremely attractive proposition. Imagine being able to walk the children to school, enjoying the companionship and fun that goes with it, then being able to go home, put the coffee on and get started. In these fast-paced days there is much to be said for the quality of such a working life.
The thousands of potential employees that are sitting at home are a great seam of talent just waiting to be mined. From lawyers to data processors, engineers to salesman, writers to social workers, the list is almost endless. From the legal secretary looking for the odd task; to the journalist ready to commit to a full week’s work from home, the possibilities are rich and varied.
Many employers would benefit greatly from this system. Thanks to the internet, work can be instantly sent and instantly received. Sending a document to someone’s home takes the same amount of time as sending one to someone’s office. There are lower employment costs if some of those employees aren’t on the company’s premises.
For the employee, there are even more benefits. Picking and choosing working hours makes it easier to plan the working day. No more paying out for train fares or petrol and parking fees, no more getting up early to pack a lunch, or dashing out for a quick sandwich at lunchtime. The working day is more organised, more enjoyable and far less stressful.
There are many agencies out there that offer the ‘opportunity’ to work from home, but having qualified accountants selling cosmetics makes no sense when they could be doing accountancy work. It’s time for those that want to be at-home parents to be given the opportunity to do the work that befits their qualifications, experience and expertise.
Article written by Fred Price, member and beneficiary of hiremyparents.com a flexible income and a flexible life.
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