If on reflection you feel you are not currently achieving your own work family balance goals, perhaps it’s time to re-examine your priorities. How much time do you spend on your family, your business, your social life, relaxation?

Make a list of the activities that are important to you and think about how you can free up some time for them. Can you re-work your schedule, outsource or delegate some tasks, or even just say ‘no’ to some things? Talk to your family and employees about how they may be able to support you. Think laterally, you may be able to find sources of support further afield, like Diane and Caroline below.

CASE STUDY: Sharing the load

Diane Gibney is proud of the way her Clinic supports family friendly practices. Photo: Gabriella Favretto.

Diane Gibney and Caroline McCutcheon are joint owners and managers of Ballarat Family Pet Care Clinic. Their 15 staff are all women, and all but two have dependent children.Vets have a legal obligation to attend to emergency calls, which of course can happen at extremely un-family-friendly hours. As there is no emergency veterinary service available in Ballarat, someone from the clinic had to be rostered on every night.

Diane and Caroline found a creative solution. They made an agreement with two other veterinary practices in order to share the workload. They have now effectively reduced their after hours calls by two-thirds, which has eased some of the strain on their families.

You might also like to find support by talking to other businesswomen who are dealing with the same issues. There are now quite a few women’s business networks you can join. A few to try include:

• Business and Professional Women

• Business Mums Network

• VECCI

• Corporate Chicks

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