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 Leo is now 17 months old which means I have been back at work following a years maternity leave for 5 months - they say time goes quickly when you are having fun! Prior to returning to work I had the same concerns as many other parents.  Would Leo settle in nursery, how would I cope if he caught chickenpox or a cold, how easy is it to juggle work and family responsibilities?

So far my experience has been a good one.  O2 are very keen to promote a work life balance and are sympathetic to the challenges presented by every day family life.  I work as PA within HR based at O2’s head office in Slough.  My line manager was happy to provide flexibility in terms of working hours and location and agreed to a four day week with two day in the office and two days working from home.  Of course Leo goes to nursery on the days I work from home - it would be impossible to sound professional on the phone whilst trying to prevent him from sticking a crayon up his nose!  What this arrangement does is save me from a long commute every day and the 2 hours gained can be spent productively on either O2 business or the hoovering (no contest).  When Leo did catch the dreaded chickenpox and had to be kept at home for 2 days the flexible approach from O2 and my line manager meant that I was able to care for him during the day and catch up on work in the evening when Dad took over the night shift.

Baby number two is due in August - testament to my positive experience as a working Mum at O2!

 - Sharon

Well they say time doesn’t stand still, and working at O2 it certainly doesn’t!  You need to move with the change, or you’ll get left behind!

In the three years I have been at O2 I have progressed from a Store Manager, overseeing just one store and its day to day operation, to a Senior Store Manager - where I can be expected to look after 18 stores.  A big jump and a big challenge but none the less, its what makes it exciting for me.

The people I work with are what make my job so rewarding, not to mention the great benefits, the rewards, the challenges and the successes along the way.  As with everything in life you have the smooth, but that also means you have the rough.

I have won numerous awards and incentives including an evening out in the West End of London, all paid for and a fantastic 4 day trip to Dubai.  If that’s not amazing I don’t know what is!  The three years I have worked for O2 have gone so quickly and there are times when I have take a step back and look at what I have achieved in such a short space of time.  I couldn’t have done it without the great people I work with who are always pushing me to achieve more.  The first three years have been brilliant and I look forward to the next three with excitement.

Jamie

Senior Store Manager

Ok, so I posted my last Blog on the 8th December’08, going into detail about my journey through O2 over the past 10 years.  I had only just at that point moved into my seconment position as HR Recruitment Advisor, but mentioning the tools and workshops etc that are available to help you suceed and progress.

I have now been doing my new role for 3 months, and have learnt and achieved so much in such a short space of time! The role itself and the work involved, are both new to me so I somethimes find it quite challenging, but the support I have received has been fantastic.  I am trusted to do a job well and I am comforted to know that the trust is there.  I have built great working relationships with my new colleagues, so I have to confidence now to approach and ask for help when required.  Its all a learning process - and I’m also learning by my own mistakes (trying not to make to many of those though)!

I still have a few months remaining in this role, so I am trying to grasp all opportunities I can that are available, to take away a lot of the experience and new skills.

Have confidence and believe in yourself when working on something new… that is the lesson I have learnt!

Kathy