From the editor: ask me anything

I find I work best when I’m working in a cafe. Do you?

It’s not so much that there’s fewer distractions but if I look up and stare at that man who seems to actually use my favourite cafe as an office for too long I’ll look like a weirdo so I swiftly must avert my eyes back to my computer. And, yes, my mind often wanders on to the unresolved conundrum of whether those two women regulars are mother and daughter or friends or colleagues and just what is the nature of her work?

But, again, something about the fact other people are looking at you staring into space cuts short the reverie.

There are downsides of course. I had to fork out for a swanky MacBook because I couldn’t stand the laptop envy. Everyone else in the cafe had the glowing white Apple on the back of their screen.

My Dell, complete with a sticker of a Lego man and ‘pithy zing’ written across it (the only words my kids could make from some leftover letter stickers) didn’t cut it. It would’ve been cheaper to switch to a more downmarket cafe of course, but the lattes are particularly good at this place.

Mainly I ask the question because questions are good. And I really want to hear yours.

Brains trust

Over the last six months since starting as editor of workingdads.co.uk I’ve assembled a team of bloggers who are both interesting and also, crucially, well informed. And away from the site I’ve been meeting with all sorts of industry experts on topics ranging from HR to how to change a nappy.

So now it’s time to unleash this brains trust. But they need work to do. We need your questions.

And don’t pretend you haven’t got any. All working dads have questions, it goes with the territory.

• Am I doing it right?
• How do I support my partner and baby when I have to go back to work after two weeks?
• How do I tell work I want to reduce my hours?
• What benefits are dads entitled to?
• What’s the best way to support the dads I employ?
• What’s the best way to cut costs so I can afford to do shared parental leave?
• What is shared parental leave?

There’s a fair few just for starters, and to be honest each one can lead on to several more.

If we’re going to change the world – and that ultimately is the aim of this website – we’ve got to do it together. We’ve got to share information and support each other.

Challenging norms

Men are often not brought up to ask questions, not knowing something can look like a sign of weakness. In the classroom boys can be reluctant to risk mockery if they get something wrong and a pattern is set for life (I’ve been recently been reading Boys Don’t Try an excellent book on this topic). But we working dads, the community that is growing up around this website, know better, right?

We’re already challenging norms – looking at working freelance or flexibly or offering our employees and teams the opportunity to define the work life balance that works for them.

So please, get in touch. There’s a form at the bottom of this article. Or email me [email protected] or contact us via social media on Facebook or Twitter.

We can anonymise enquiries of course if they are a bit sensitive or you’re just a bit shy. We’ll aim to answer anything and everything you can throw at us whether you’re looking for info on employment law or recommendations for where to get the best latte.

One last question to end with – what have you got to lose?

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• Tags:
• Shared Parental Leave paternity rights gender equality smart working