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***Anonymous Member Request - Some Help and Advice Needed Please***

Former Community Member
Former Community Member
Hi All,



I have received the following request by one of our members - a very real and classic example of why some companies find it difficult to retain women in the workplace and why so many women feel as though they have no alternative but to leave!



I would be very grateful if you could spare a few moments of your time to read this and provide some helpful information.



Thank you in advance, Jo.



''I've been doing the job I'm in now (Signalling Design Engineer (Railways)) for the past 6.5 years - started as an apprentice and worked my way to designer, but I am no longer sure if its what I want to do. However, I feel completely stuck and don't know how I would go about trying something different?? I want to stay as an engineering type role - maybe Project Engineering?? I have industry qualifications and experience, but not much academic wise (ONC/NVQ Level 3/Cert in Business Studies probably being the highest).



My other problem is that being a single parent with no support network my current role doesn't give me the flexibility that's now even more important to me - maybe because my managers just don't understand and it feels like instead of them trying to help me and be accommodating they are just making things harder. For example they are asking us to put extra hours in at work, so I said I was happy to put an extra couple of hours a day in as long as I could do it at home once my daughters gone to bed. So they initially agreed although my direct line manager was reluctant as he doesn't believe in working from home from the sounds of things. But now they've decided to take my laptop off me and give me a desktop which therefore means I can't do overtime from home. So unless I stay late and spend even less time with my daughter I won't be able to do any and could be perceived in their eyes as showing a lack of commitment to my job.



I don't necessarily dislike my job and if I felt I had the support I needed then maybe I wouldn't be looking at other options but I'm not sure?! And I don't know what to do about it?? Sometimes its not feasible to do the work from home and in which case I understand. But the work I currently have is more than feasible and to be honest I tend to get more done at home as there are no distractions.



Any help/advice would be much appreciated!'' 
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    I was in a similar position last year, I felt completely unsupported which left we questioning if I really wanted to be an engineer anymore.

    Fortunately I was I a position where I could take some time away, I quit my job and took a month off then took a contract position, working somewhere else made me see that it was the company environment that I had been in which had made me start to hate my job.

    I am now employed as staff with the company I contracted for and have a new appreciation for my job.

    The long winding point is maybe you need a change of environment not necessarily a change of career direction, there is obviously something wrong if you're made to feel bad about having a home life and you've tried to work with them.

    Apologies for the block of text on my mobile :-/ x
  • 0
    This sounds like a systemic problem within the company you work for.  I may be a bit of a consiprancy theorist here but taking your laptop away after offering to work extra hours from home just smells fishy to me and it sounds like they are, for whatever reason, trying to fource you into a situation you are not conforatable with.



    I would be adverse to going directly to HR at this stage as your manager might feel betrayed and you will still have to work for him.  My advise would be to sit down with your manager and be very open and honest about your concerns.  Having an open dialogue with your manager might let both sides understand the others perspective and maybe come to an amicable arrangement.



    It seems counter-productive to not allow you to work this way.  They have the option of getting a couple more hours out of you from home, or no extra hours at all.  If they have a legitiemit reason for not allowing flexible working then they should explain this to you.



    If this is not sucessful then I would bring HR into the equation and request that notes are kept on record with you having a copy for your own records.  If there is a chance that they are for any reason trying to forse your hand or descriminating against you, you will have all the information on record.  I would hope it would not have to get to this stage.



    If you dont feel like you are getting the support you need then now may be the time to start looking at new jobs.  There are plenty of companies out there who understand the value of flexible working and with your experiance i'm sure you will be able to find something.  



    I can speak from personal experaince when I say that taking the risk and moving jobs can be the best decision you ever make.  I had the decision taken away from me when I was unfairly dismissed from a terrible company who seemed to have it out for me almost as soon as I started.  Luckily I had two job offers within 2 weeks of my dismissal.  The company I now work for is so different from my last job its like night and day.  and I was promoted just after a year of my starting.  They also encouraged me to get my chartership and I am now CEng which I would never had done without the support of my company.



    Anyway I hope you get some help from this,



    all the best.


  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    Thank you very much to everybody that has contributed to this feed.  There is some great information being givene here.

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