Flexible working is now a dream come true

A big lottery win used to bring with it the inevitable fast car, fancy pad and fizzy booze.

But in a sign of the times flexible working is now part of the ‘dreams come true’ package.

A chef that bagged a million pound jackpot over Christmas put a more flexible job at the top of his wish list.

Didzis Pirags won £1 million on a scratchcard he bought during his lunch break just days before Christmas.

He worked his Christmas and New Year shifts at the Hungry Horse pub in Preston where he’s been employed for two years. He said he didn’t want to let his customers down. But with 2020 underway he’s going to hand in his notice so he can spend more time with his five-year-old son. Top of his wish list is a job with a more flexible working pattern.

Quality time

The 36-year-old single dad said, “It’ll change my life completely. I’ve got a five-year-old son, and now I can spend quality time with him. I’ve not spent a weekend with him in years.

“I work 60-hour weeks so I barely have time to see him. I see him Monday evenings, Tuesday evenings and sometimes on Friday in the daytime.

“This is the best Christmas present we could have received, it’s massive. It’s going to mean a better life for me and my son, I can give him a better future, better education, a better house. Everything in our lives can be better now.

“The real gift is the life we’ve been afforded thanks to this win. He’s the most important person in my life, it’s all about him. Raising him on my own, it’s been difficult at times in the last five years but now things can change for the better.”

While Didzas has put down a deposit on a new home and says he’ll buy a new car it’s notable that his first consideration was maximising ‘invaluable’ time with his son. Pursuing his flexible working dream is key to that.

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