Our Blog

Uchenna's blog: Toy Story on Laminate – An art installation ...

New Year, same deal: 2021 has not yet distinguished itself from 2020. With the return to full lockdown, I‘m still incredulous at the sci-fi horror thriller unfolding with COVID-19 bei... Read More

• Families

Sonya's blog: Presents

It is really exciting to be writing my first blog for WorkLife Central.  When I received the rota list, and found out I was to write my first blog in December, it felt that perfect opportunity t... Read More

• Families

Victoria's blog: The holiday season

I have failed at Christmas. Completely and utterly failed and it’s only mid-December. My husband has failed too which takes the edge off a bit. We both have deals which are meant to close ... Read More

• Families

Ruth's blog: A day in the life from 2020…

I am not new to home working, but COVID-19 has brought the experience to another level to my colleagues and family. My partner and I are now professional children-and-work-jugglers (no fancy costumes... Read More

• Families

Maggie's blog: And they’re back... but for how long?

Along with many parents around the country it was with a huge sigh of relief that we waved our 3 children back to school at the start of September. Our 12 year old twins went off loaded down with the... Read More

• Families

Marion's blog: Bringing back play

At the start of lockdown, my husband bought a gaming PC. I couldn't work out why he wanted it - it has been years since he'd played computer games and 2 small daughters get in the way of time... Read More

• Families

Chrissy's blog: Working from home

The odd day working from home can feel like a treat, but working from home for a prolonged period of time can be surprisingly challenging. ‘Working from home fatigue’ has become something... Read More

• Wellbeing

Caroline M's blog: I should know better

I’ve been fortunate to work for a company that has made huge strides in the last few years in terms of equality, diversity and inclusion and we have an incredible, dedicated committee set ... Read More

• Inclusion

Ally's blog: The squidgy bit

There was a period just after my second maternity leave when I was going through a redundancy process. While many people suggested redundancy from my job based in the City might be a good thing becau... Read More

• Families

Caroline P's blog: Division of Labour

Since our au pair left us at the beginning of lockdown, my partner and I have tried hard to share the family and home responsibilities. I know that his intentions are good – but I also know tha... Read More

• Families

Barbara's blog: Skirtgate

Son and daughter – 13 and 14 respectively – went back to school on 4 September, after six months of absence. It was the first day of school, but felt more like the first step in a new wor... Read More

• Families

Lucy's blog: Getting creative with never-ending homeschooling

So, I don’t know how the ‘back to school’ has gone for you but for us, my daughter went into Year 2 for exactly 4 days before getting a cough and a fever. In any other year, we&rsqu... Read More

• Families

Alison's blog: Blended family and new routines

September is for me the time to make “new years resolutions”, the time to get real. The list of things to do starts piling up and so does the stress level. This September feels ... Read More

• Families

Jonathan's blog: Prem Pt 3 - How parents work with children ...

Trigger warning: premature birth  Our daughter Isabella was born in May 2019. She was due at the end of August. My previous two blogs charted how my wife and I struggled through the shock... Read More

• Families

Angel's blog: Schools are open– work/life balance in action

My eldest started Reception at school this month and I promised myself I wasn’t going to cry. I had a small wobble when they sent me videos and photos from his nursery graduation, as parents we... Read More

• Families

Dolly's blog: Who comes first?

The children come first.  Don’t they?  Isn’t that just…a fact? I now think not.  Several years ago (with two kids under three, a husband away fighting in Afghan... Read More

• Families

Linda's blog: Time to be proactive

When I wrote my last blog it was May and we were literally on our knees.  I can’t bear to re-read my brutally honest words.  What a difference a few months can make.  The chink o... Read More

• Careers

Jon's Blog : Happily Ever After?

How's your summer been so far?  I'm guessing it's not been quite like you anticipated when you planned it earlier this year, or even last year.  We were looking forward to a sun... Read More

• Families

Kemi's blog: Finding joy in the simple things

When I got the alert about my blog submission this week, I was very unsure about what to write about. Since my last blog in May I have experienced two very big unexpected changes. Firs... Read More

• Families

Katie's blog: Still embracing it!

I wrote my last blog for WorkLife Central back in April at the start of lockdown. At the time I wrote about how I had decided I would embrace lockdown and how I planned to stick to a routine. Reading... Read More

• Families

Addy's blog: Climb every mountain

I’ve been mulling over what to write in this blog for over a week now. Do you want to hear about where I am in my cancer journey (or my brother and mums)? Do we want more Coronavirus/lockdown s... Read More

• Families

Caroline P's blog: Lockdown life

I started lockdown feeling really enthusiastic. I saw it as a challenge, and an opportunity. I would get my work done around the kids’ needs; I’d be invested in their home schooling, and ... Read More

• Families

Ally's blog: School’s out - now what?

Has anyone else been filled with terror at the prospect of the school summer holidays?  It’s one of those things that I’m nervous about mentioning in polite society – I have vi... Read More

• Families

Barbara's blog: Please don’t fill my tent’s smoke hole…

Working at the dining table in an open plan house means I have an uninterrupted view of the garden. There is a squirrel climbing up to the bird table for its daily seed heist and robins have gathered... Read More

• Families

Caroline's blog: Being real

This morning we enjoyed some glimmers of normality (and a quiet house) as our second child was welcomed back to his primary school. Lockdown with two parents working from home, two extrovert pri... Read More

• Families

Caroline M's blog: Another dimension of my life

For almost 5 years now, I have struggled to reconcile being the mother my daughters deserve, and the daughter my aging parents deserve. Not to mention everything else on my little life's spectrum... Read More

• Families

Lucy's blog: The day you didn’t have

I had been jotting down ideas for this blog with lockdown in mind. My husband and I are working from my mother’s house in the land that high-speed broadband forgot where we are locking down to ... Read More

• Families

Emma's blog: Homeschooling during COVID-19

Emma Bradley, parent, qualified teacher and founder of blog  Emmaand3 , explains how she’s guiding her three children through this tough time at home and shares her top tips for home scho... Read More

• Families

Angel's blog: Smelling the Roses

Lockdown has been an experience to remember. As it threw people out of their usual routine, I’ve been able to notice a number of interesting and positive changes. In eight years of living in my... Read More

• Families

Dolly's blog: Chorizo was my loo roll

I’ve been learning a thing or two about myself this lockdown. Beginning with the fact that, when initially facing the prospect of Armageddon, my priorities were to stock up on tahini, scen... Read More

• Families