As a working mum, even Sarah Jessica Parker has her challenges - or
so it seems in her new film "I Don't Know How She Does It" (released by
Village Roadshow in cinemas next week).
In a plotline all too familiar with the growing number of working mums
in the workforce, Parker (as character Kate Reddy) carefully tries to
balance life as a working woman and life as a mum with the endless
series of trade-offs that it brings along.
While Parker herself, in her off-screen life, has the luxury of money,
help and the ability to work when she choose so that she can manage the
tricky working mum equation, most Australian mums are on their own when
it comes to trying to obtain that perfect work/life balance.
The "work or not to work" argument provokes a stack of controversy every
time it's pushed into the fore, not just from the public in general but
from mums themselves. Make it the topic of a talk back show and you'll
have alternate calls from stay-at-home mums and working mums each
pointing the accusatory finger at the other for getting it wrong.
Finding the perfect balance is nothing new to working mum, Fiona Anson,
co-founder of part-time job website HireMeUp.com.au. As a mother to a
17-year-old son, and one who has worked for the whole of his life, it's a
familiar juggling act.
And it's why she started her business.
"The whole working versus stay-at-home mums argument has always provoked
vehement responses," Anson says. "And the truth is, there's just no
right or wrong. What works for one may not work for another so there's
no use trying to prove which is best".
In Anson's case, however, she does believe a happy medium does exist. And she has built a business around it.
"I've always worked for myself," Anson says, "and this has allowed me to
work my own hours. While nothing is perfect and there are always
trade-offs, working part time has allowed me the best of both worlds".
And it's a sentiment that is reflected in official job figures which, as
of September 2011, puts part time positions at 30% of all jobs and 47%
for all working women.
The problem, according to Anson, is that part-time work has always been
seen as the "poor relation", badly paid and, especially for skilled
workers, hard to find. Precisely the reason why she
startedHireMeUp.com.au.
"HireMeUp was borne out of need," she says. "My business partner, Alli,
and I were both looking for part-time work to fill in around other
commitments and finding it really hard to source. Certainly none of the
job sites around take it seriously, and you can spend literally weeks,
months even, trying to find a job that suits your availability".
At the same time, Anson's then-colleague and part-time consultant,
Allison Baker, had several clients say that they wanted the expertise of
professional staff but only needed them for a few days a week.
Recognising that the demand was there on both sides of the hiring table,
Anson and Baker decided to start up their business aimed at
legitimising the part-time image and making it easier for part-time
workers to match up with employers.
Today, their customised search allows users to search for jobs or job
seekers by the days, times and hours they need - a world's first in job
search engines. If a working mum only wants to work on Tuesdays and
Thursdays while the kids are in care, she can type that in and find all
of the employers looking for a her role of choice who can accommodate
those days.
Baker and Anson seem to have hit on a growing need. HireMeUp has
catapulted onto the market with over 10,000 visitors a month since
startup earlier this year and it's growing daily.
It seems there are a lot of Kate Reddys out there that are trying their
hardest to do it all and achieve their own idea of work/life balance.
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