I Love My Job, Now I’m On Maternity

I love my job and passed probation! Now, I’m very aware that the majority of my blogs have been all about pregnancy/mum life recently and haven’t really updated on the career side of things so I thought I’d finally give you all a little update now. And because I went into labour the week I went on maternity leave, this update is a lot later than planned.

As you know I was offered a job as Admin & Communications Lead for the local church that’s on the same new build complex we moved to at the beginning of last year which is perfect for me as I embarked on my journey into motherhood. At the time, I wrote about how this was literally a God send as it ticked all the boxes I was looking for at the time: flexible, local, managers with an understanding of family life and a more soul nourishing role. Seven months on and I can proudly say the job is still a God send! And yes, it’s all I expected and more soooo I love my job! I don’t say that to boast, I am well aware of the hard times 2020 brought many of us, and in many ways I too was a victim of the financial hardship. But finding this job really helped and now I can wholeheartedly say I love my job – every bit of it.

An Amazing Team

There are only 4 of us at the moment; my bosses who are the Church Leaders and the Curate. We literally all get on so well and I have never felt like I could have proper open communication at work until now. We are such a diverse group of people with different strengths that actually compliment each other. We have not only had fun chats and productive, prayerful sessions, we have also had a 2 hour plus conversation about the BLM movement and how we as individuals and a church could support those in our community who were triggered by the events of last year. The fact that I was able to have an open conversation about such a divisive topic not only showed my bosses are true allies, but also sealed our bond as a team. The fact that we put a plan together to help support the community was a cherry on top, considering other organisations were unable to post a black square up on their social media feeds, yet alone have real conversations internally. The open conversations and friendships are one of the reasons I love my job.

Flexibility

Working part time really suits me, and now baby is here, I know it will really suit me when I choose to go back from maternity. I have set days, and if I have more work in a particular week I can work an extra day and remove a day the following week etc. Also my role means I can work around my personal life – I mean I could work around my long Dr appointments while pregnant, so working around baby’s schedule should also work right? Though this is yet to be determined…

Local

My post is set to be a permanent working from home role which is perfect, but if we ever need to have a face to face, we all live on the same complex and my manager literally lives 2 roads away from me! I couldn’t get more local than that. When I log off, that is the end of my work day, no commute, no issues on the tube, no traffic – I love my job.

Understanding Family Life

My bosses are married with two young kids and the Curate is also a family man. The support they gave me through pregnancy and beyond has been unreal. From prayers to helping me apply for maternity allowance (something I didn’t know existed as all I have ever heard about is maternity pay – find the differences here), from the most thoughtful maternity presents to sorting out a meal rota with church members so were sorted food wise for a couple weeks after baby was born was literally the best thing ever! This is the first time I’ve felt that no matter what personally I would have the full understanding and support from work and my managers.

Worthwhile Work

I am finally doing something that helps people rather than just trying to get them to buy stuff. Getting a group of people together to figure out how we can support the community during lockdown 1 and beyond, sharing local initiatives that are supporting the community financially, physically and spiritually. I am so looking forward to going back and getting stuck into the work again. I literally loved what I was working on before and miss it while being on maternity leave. I can’t wait to get back to the role that see as more than a job.

Who knows what the future holds and I know a part time role won’t work for us forever but this is perfect for right now and if they offered me a full time told I would take it in a second! But for right now, this is exactly what I need and I love it. I love my job!

You too can take advantage of this time to really find what you love, whether it be your current job, a side hustle or a whole new career path all together. I hope 2021 helps you get that little bit closer and if you’re already there, lucky you – it’s the most amazing feeling!

Mrs. A

xxXxx