Work life balance isn’t just an issue for young dads

It’s not just new dads, or those with small children, that look for a healthy work-life balance so they can spend time with their family.

Glenn Anderson works flexibly and gets to see plenty of daughter Lauren because they do the same job!

Ahead of Father’s Day 57-year-old Glenn has been enthusing about a post that involves him drinking with his daughter.

They both work for Waitrose offering the firm’s ‘Wine Tasting at Home’ service. It’s a flexible job that sees Glenn and Lauren go round people’s houses to teach them a bit about wine and obviously encourage them to pick some plonk from the Waitrose range.

Customers sign up for a visit and Glenn, originally from London’s East End but now living in Oxford, can choose the appointments that suit him in terms of time and location. Most are evening jobs making it potentially an ideal post for a dad that wants to be around in the day with younger kids. Or an older dad whose daughter is in the same industry!

Evening class

Glenn first got into wine 10 years ago when he saw experts enthusing about it on a cookery programme. “I just couldn’t believe you could get the kind of fruity flavours they were enthusing about from a simple glass of wine.” he said. “I thought I’d give it a go for myself so signed up for an evening class on wine tasting. I remember tasting the first wine that had a real impact on me, a Washington State Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc and it opened up an entire new world of tasting. After that, I ended up going religiously every week.”

In 2009 he turned his hobby into a job when he joined Waitrose as a wine specialist. Lauren also turned professional in 2016 quitting her job in the bar at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane to join Waitrose too.

Glenn added, “I was incredibly proud of Lauren when she told me about her wine tasting job. It’s so nice that we not only have a shared common interest, but we have both been fortunate enough to make careers out of it.”

Last year the pair joined the Wine Tasting at Home scheme.

Family life

But it’s not the first time Glenn has gone for a family friendly job. Before he joined Waitrose he was a postman, a job that fitted well with family life. He explained, “The postman job appealed as it was less than a 10 minute cycle to and from work. The hours were 5am to 12.30 so that gave me the afternoons to do work around the house and prepare dinner for the family.”

With his four kids having flown the nest his family commitments are somewhat reduced. But like any dad he still wants to hang out with his brood and share his passion. He’s just done a wine tasting for his son as a birthday present and he’s going to do another later in the year for another of his daughters. Plus he and Lauren have teamed up to present together on occasion.

Lauren said, “We have hosted tastings together and we share lots of little jokes which our guests really enjoy. It is a bit of a pinch me moment when you realise your job is enjoying wine with your dad!”

The Waitrose Wine Tasting at Home offer sees experts such as Glenn and Lauren present for a couple of hours to groups of six or more friends or family either at home or at a venue of their choosing about the intricacies of wine, what food they go with and the various factors that can influence the choice of tipple. The firm does similar events covering champagne, prosecco and gin.

And of course Glenn has recommendations for what to get fathers ahead of this weekend’s celebration. Depending on how much you love your dad – or how deep your pockets are – he’s tipped a bottle of Moulin du Duhart at £32 a pop or a slightly more affordable Rioja called Muga Seleccion Especial Reserva.

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• flexible working practices part time employment