Rochelle Wallens

Working at Ākina in a part time capacity has enabled me to follow my career and parenting aspirations. I am most happy when I can be challenged in the work I do alongside quality time with my family. If part time senior roles didn't exist, I would have to wait until my children were much older and therefore significantly affecting my long term career opportunities.

Tips on managing boundaries or communications to make the role work.

It's not easy to balance part-time and the work load however flexibility, trust and the ability to work from home has been key for me.

• Flexibility must go both ways - there are times I have to travel and my hours are longer however this is then balanced by finishing earlier later in the week or the ability to attend an outside of work commitment as they come up. I am grateful that Ākina has respected this and will give advance notice of travel so that I cam manage my other commitments in advance.
• Trust is important. Ākina recognises that it my contribution is not based on being in the office 9-5 and trusts me to manage my time, client expectations and deliverables.
• Lastly working from home part of the week allows me to make the most use of my time outside of work and ultimately allows me to work more hours over the week and progress my career.