Latest news with #flexiblework
ABC News
18 hours ago
- General
- ABC News
Parents and guardians on how they manage leave and school holidays
Parent math is realising the number of weeks your cherubs spend away from the classroom each year dwarfs your annual leave entitlements. Going from the year-round consistency of day care and (if you're lucky) grandparent help, to managing two-week (three in the NT) breaks and those long (so long) Christmas school holidays, can be quite a shock to the system. We spoke with three different parents about how they juggle the gap between annual leave entitlements and school holiday breaks. Nicky Moffat works as a nature campaigner in Queensland and is based on Kabi Kabi lands on the Sunshine Coast. She and her partner work full time and get a combined eight weeks leave per year, which they strategically use (and save) to help take care of their eight-year-old daughter Polly. Both have some flexibility to work from home, but Nicky says she can also change her work hours to avoid dipping into her leave. "I'm technically full time but our workplace is doing a four-day work week trial," she says. "We [also] have 'flex', so within your pay cycle you can just flex your time as you need to. "So, if you need to do 10 hours one day you do it, you just do six the next." Nicky also works early mornings or late evenings so she can spend the day with her daughter without having to take annual leave. "I just work really long nights to get my work done, or I'll get up at stupid o'clock, so I was up at three today and I'll get most of my workday done before everyone's even awake." She says the couple will often "tag team" school holiday leave, but it means they don't spend a lot of time holiday together as a family. "We usually save up annual leave for the end of the year and take that off together," she says. "So, we really only have about one three-week block of family time." Emma-Kate Callaghan is a deputy principal at a school in Nowra/Yuin, New South Wales, that specialises in behaviour management and disability. She is also a single parent of her nine-year-old daughter Grace. Emma-Kate says she is entitled to four weeks' annual leave a year. "The rest of the time is called 'student vacation time' so it's not actually our holidays," she says. "It definitely is easier, but a lot of the holidays is still working, and I would come into school five out of the ten days of two-week holidays." She says she relies heavily on her mkum's help during school holidays, or Grace goes into the office with her. "Often she just has to come with me, with some activities that she can do in my office." Emma-Kate banks her leave to use over the larger school holiday break at Christmas time. "I try to have at least four weeks where I don't go into school during that time," she says. But she is also now eligible for long-service leave, which she uses in snippets throughout the year. "I find that [to be] quality time … when I take long service leave throughout the year," she says. "I'm taking one week [of] long-service leave in August and we're going to the Great Barrier Reef." Even if Theresa Windsor has enough annual leave to take time off over the school holidays, there's no guarantee the request can be approved in the police force. "The thing that's hard in our job is we can't just automatically get school holidays off because we've always got to have rotational officers working," she says. The police sergeant is an operational adviser on Turrbal lands in Brisbane, which often involves shift work. Her husband Steve is also a police officer. She says it can make school holiday care arrangements for her two sons Kian, 13, and Airnin, 9, a "nightmare". Instead of taking annual leave, Theresa "usually asks to work night shifts" over the break. "If I do four to five nights' night work then I've got some days off at the end," she says. She says her husband will usually take some annual leave during school holidays. "Another thing I [can] do is nine-hour shifts, rather than eight-hour, just to help give me an extra day or two off a roster," she says. "So that's another thing they've introduced at our office, not all stations can do it. "Thank God we can do that, that really helps." The banked annual leave means the family can usually take a few weeks off together in January each year.
Entrepreneur
23-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Next-Gen Travel: How Digital Nomads Are Redefining Business on the Move
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. As summer sets in across the GCC, a new kind of professional migration begins—not the typical holidaymakers, but digital nomads with laptops in hand, heading for cooler climates while keeping their careers in full motion. We've seen a noticeable shift in how remote workers from the region are approaching this season. It's no longer just about escaping the heat; it's about fully embracing the freedom of remote work and rethinking how, and where, we get things done. The global movement toward hybrid and remote work is no longer experimental. It's become a core part of how business operates. Over the last year, the global digital nomad population has climbed to around 40 million, a significant increase from previous years. This is no longer a fringe lifestyle. It's a growing, borderless workforce that's changing the definition of professional life. In the GCC, this shift is particularly pronounced. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have launched flexible work visa programs—such as the UAE's Virtual Working Program and Saudi Arabia's Remote Work Initiative—making it easier for overseas professionals to base themselves in the region, and equally for local professionals to live and work on the move. It signals a larger mindset shift: remote work isn't just tolerated, it's being actively championed. The foundation of this shift is connectivity. With the rise of secure cloud platforms, collaborative tools and stable international roaming, the concept of the office has expanded. Geography no longer dictates where you can be productive. And as we spend more time in motion—on planes, in terminals, between cities—technology has followed suit, making mobile productivity possible and even seamless. Imagine this: you're catching an afternoon flight, but you have a virtual meeting scheduled just before departure. The airport is packed, the cafés are full, and the public Wi-Fi is patchy at best. Instead of scrambling for a quiet spot, you simply use either the Visa Airport Companion or MasterCard Travel pass app—powered by Dragonpass—and register with your eligible bank card to access a quiet lounge, settle in with strong Wi-Fi, power outlets, and a coffee. You join your call, finish your tasks, and board your flight without stress or disruption. It's not just more comfortable; it's more effective. What's emerging is a different relationship with travel altogether. It's no longer viewed as a disruption to work but rather an extension of it. Travel-as-a-Service platforms have quietly redefined what it means to be a working professional in motion. These digital services transform layovers into moments of clarity, and terminals into temporary workspaces. And what might have been considered a luxury in the past is now a logical solution for anyone juggling time zones, deadlines, and mobility. Flexibility is increasingly becoming the new workplace currency. Many professionals today would choose autonomy and freedom over rigid structures—even over a higher paycheck. For businesses looking to attract and retain top talent, offering tools that enable this lifestyle is no longer optional. It's part of the future-ready toolkit. From personal experience, I know how small changes in the travel experience—access to a lounge, skipping long queues through Fast-Track services, being able to attend a yoga class or access a local gym while travelling, logging on securely—can dramatically shift your mindset. Instead of arriving frazzled, you land focused. And that shows in how you lead, deliver, and collaborate. The idea of the summer nomad isn't a passing trend. It's a glimpse into the future of work. And in that future, we won't just be working from anywhere, we'll be supported by systems that make that mobility sustainable. Whether you're traveling for a weekend or relocating for a season, you don't have to choose between being productive and being free. With the right infrastructure in place and seamless digital travel platforms, you can do both—smoothly, confidently, and without compromise.
CNN
17-06-2025
- Business
- CNN
Welcome to the ‘infinite workday' of 8 p.m. meetings and constant messages
Workers are struggling to cope with a 'seemingly infinite workday,' involving an increasing load of meetings scheduled at 8 p.m. or later and a near-constant stream of interruptions, according to new research by Microsoft. The company analyzed data from users of Microsoft 365 services — which include Outlook and PowerPoint — globally between mid-January and mid-February. It found that the number of meetings booked between 8 p.m. and just before midnight had risen 16% compared with last year. Geographically dispersed teams, as well as those with flexible working arrangements, were responsible for much of that increase. 'The infinite workday… starts early, mostly in email, and quickly swells to a focus-sapping flood of messages, meetings, and interruptions,' Microsoft said in a report Tuesday. The company found that the average worker is interrupted every two minutes by a meeting, an email or a chat notification during a standard eight-hour shift — adding up to 275 times a day. And those messages don't stop after they've clocked off. During the study period, the average employee sent or received 58 instant messages outside of their core working hours — a jump of 15% from last year. The typical worker also receives 117 emails per day and, by 10 p.m., almost one-third of employees are back in their inboxes, 'pointing to a steady rise in after-hours activity,' Microsoft noted. 'The modern workday for many has no clear start or finish,' the company said in its report. 'As business demands grow more complex and expectations continue to rise, time once reserved for focus or recovery may now be spent catching up, prepping, and chasing clarity.' 'It's the professional equivalent of needing to assemble a bike before every ride. Too much energy is spent organizing chaos before meaningful work can begin,' it added. One outcome is that one-third of workers feel it has been 'impossible to keep up' with the pace of work over the past five years, according to a Microsoft-commissioned survey of 31,000 employees around the world, cited in the Tuesday report. 'Each email or message notification may seem small, but together they can set a frenetic tempo for the day ahead,' the company said. Half of all meetings take place between 9–11 a.m. and 1–3 p.m., Microsoft also found, 'precisely when, as research shows, many people have a natural productivity spike in their day, due to their circadian rhythms.' Ultimately, Microsoft said, meeting-hungry bosses and colleagues sap workers' productivity, with some time-starved employees forced to catch up at the weekend. 'Instead of deep work… prime hours are spent cycling through a carousel of calls,' the company noted. Artificial intelligence could help lighten the load for workers, according to Microsoft. The technology can help carry out 'low-value' administrative tasks, it said, freeing up time for people to work on what truly benefits the organization. However, the rise of AI has fueled anxiety about the technology's potential to oust human workers from their jobs. According to a survey by the World Economic Forum, published in January, 41% of employers intend to downsize their workforce as AI automates certain tasks. CNN's Olesya Dmitracova contributed reporting.
CNN
17-06-2025
- Business
- CNN
Welcome to the ‘infinite workday' of 8 p.m. meetings and constant messages
Workers are struggling to cope with a 'seemingly infinite workday,' involving an increasing load of meetings scheduled at 8 p.m. or later and a near-constant stream of interruptions, according to new research by Microsoft. The company analyzed data from users of Microsoft 365 services — which include Outlook and PowerPoint — globally between mid-January and mid-February. It found that the number of meetings booked between 8 p.m. and just before midnight had risen 16% compared with last year. Geographically dispersed teams, as well as those with flexible working arrangements, were responsible for much of that increase. 'The infinite workday… starts early, mostly in email, and quickly swells to a focus-sapping flood of messages, meetings, and interruptions,' Microsoft said in a report Tuesday. The company found that the average worker is interrupted every two minutes by a meeting, an email or a chat notification during a standard eight-hour shift — adding up to 275 times a day. And those messages don't stop after they've clocked off. During the study period, the average employee sent or received 58 instant messages outside of their core working hours — a jump of 15% from last year. The typical worker also receives 117 emails per day and, by 10 p.m., almost one-third of employees are back in their inboxes, 'pointing to a steady rise in after-hours activity,' Microsoft noted. 'The modern workday for many has no clear start or finish,' the company said in its report. 'As business demands grow more complex and expectations continue to rise, time once reserved for focus or recovery may now be spent catching up, prepping, and chasing clarity.' 'It's the professional equivalent of needing to assemble a bike before every ride. Too much energy is spent organizing chaos before meaningful work can begin,' it added. One outcome is that one-third of workers feel it has been 'impossible to keep up' with the pace of work over the past five years, according to a Microsoft-commissioned survey of 31,000 employees around the world, cited in the Tuesday report. 'Each email or message notification may seem small, but together they can set a frenetic tempo for the day ahead,' the company said. Half of all meetings take place between 9–11 a.m. and 1–3 p.m., Microsoft also found, 'precisely when, as research shows, many people have a natural productivity spike in their day, due to their circadian rhythms.' Ultimately, Microsoft said, meeting-hungry bosses and colleagues sap workers' productivity, with some time-starved employees forced to catch up at the weekend. 'Instead of deep work… prime hours are spent cycling through a carousel of calls,' the company noted. Artificial intelligence could help lighten the load for workers, according to Microsoft. The technology can help carry out 'low-value' administrative tasks, it said, freeing up time for people to work on what truly benefits the organization. However, the rise of AI has fueled anxiety about the technology's potential to oust human workers from their jobs. According to a survey by the World Economic Forum, published in January, 41% of employers intend to downsize their workforce as AI automates certain tasks. CNN's Olesya Dmitracova contributed reporting.
The National
16-06-2025
- Health
- The National
Caregivers for elderly parents in Abu Dhabi able to apply for flexible working under new scheme
People caring for their elderly parents in Abu Dhabi are able to avail of a flexible working programme as part of an initiative to enhance the well-being of senior citizens. President Sheikh Mohamed launched the Barakatna project in April to improve the efficiency of home care provided to the elderly in a suitable family setting with the aim of ensuring they enjoy a stable, healthy and fulfilling life. It was announced by Abu Dhabi Media Office on Monday that those caring for their elderly parents could benefit from 'flexible work systems'. 'Home care requires commitment and special attention, and we are working on providing the necessary regulations to support this responsibility, including the presence of a dedicated nurse for the elderly, along with continuing co-ordination with employers, said Mariam Mohammed Al Rumaithi, director general of the Family Development Foundation. The scheme reflects the extensive efforts being made to ensure the stability and quality of life of those providing care for the elderly, said Ms Al Rumaithi. The initiative seeks to empower caregivers to access these systems and strengthen the role of children in supporting and caring for the elderly, she added. 'We are proud to be part of this inspiring humanitarian initiative, which aims to develop regulatory human resources policies within the Abu Dhabi government and empower employees to fulfil their family responsibilities without compromising their professional performance,' said Ibrahim Nasser, undersecretary of the Department of Government Enablement. When Sheikh Mohamed launched the scheme in April, he spoke of the vital role the elderly play in society, describing them as a vital pillar of society whose wisdom, experience and resilience help to guide younger generations. Senior citizens remain an integral part of the nation's social fabric, he added. Among the other services, of the scheme is providing temporary alternative care services when family members are unable to provide the level required. The scheme will also allow for home improvements to be carried out, in facilities used by senior citizens, to support primary caregivers.
