The VN Futures Diversity, Inclusivity and Widening Participation (DIWP) working group are currently delivering a flexible working campaign, running throughout the month of August. In this blog, RVN and BVNA Council Member Nikki McLeod discusses her experiences of flexible working, along with approaches which have had varying degrees of success for her own needs.

“There are different ways of working flexibly and the veterinary profession should be treated no differently from any other profession. There are many reasons for asking for flexible working terms in your employment: you may be a parent with childcare concerns, you may have a disability or illness, you may have travel issues. From job-sharing to part-time hours and compressed hours, flexible working in the veterinary profession allows employees the chance to balance work and home life, while still being part of the veterinary team.

“Though working from home in the veterinary profession might initially not seem like a feasible option, there are many parts of the job that can be done from home. Head Nurses can choose to do Admin days from home, working on rotas and writing up appraisals/monthly catch-ups. Insurance claims can be done remotely with access to practice management systems. The COVID pandemic taught us that Zoom/Team calls allow connection between staff members even when not in the same building.

“Compressed hours mean working full-time hours but over fewer days. I worked compressed hours in previous jobs where the travel distance was long, meaning my day was long but I only had to travel for 4 days a week rather than 5. Some staff members may prefer this way of working to shorter but more days. Personally, I found my ‘spare day’ was used to recover from the long working days, so it didn’t quite work for me. I have chronic illnesses and the long days did not agree with me.

“Currently I work part time hours, over 3 days. As a consulting nurse, I cannot do my consulting job from home as it involves being present in the consulting room, with caregivers and their pets. But by working part-time, I can use my days off to study at home for a Masters degree, work on CPD and BVNA Council tasks, and have the freedom to participate in being “mum-taxi” for my children. The downside of part time hours is the wage decrease, but balancing it up with less travel and time with my children, it works for me. It is definitely easier now that my youngest child is at school as when he was a baby and pre-school, childminders were expensive. Now that he is at school, it is easier but I still have to make use of Out of School Club for childcare cover after school hours. Fortunately, childcare vouchers pay for that, where money is taken off salary before tax. It is very much a balancing act between making money and spending it, spending time with your children and pursuing your career.

“Gone are the days when every veterinary staff member worked ridiculously long hours, going from a day shift into a night shift. Veterinary management has to see the benefit of flexible working as a bonus to keeping staff happy. After all, happy staff means well-cared for animals and caregivers. Happy staff means loyalty to the business and pride in the job done.”