Power list winner who champions flexi working
Senior people should not be penalised for wanting to work part-time. It's often recruiters who get in the way, says the founder of a styling business
The recruitment industry is blocking the way for flexible working at senior levels, says marketing executive Jodie Gillary, one of the winners of this year’s Timewise Power List, which showcases the nation’s most dynamic and successful part-time and flexible workers.
Gillary works three days a week as head of client impact for leading data, insight and consulting company Kantar.
She says: “We have come a long way, with a lot of companies much more open to flexible working at senior levels, but it’s the recruiters who are the blockers. They want an easy sale and think it’s much easier to sell someone full-time. They don’t want the hassle and try to fit you into a box you don’t want to fit in. Or they tell you to take a more junior part-time role, which discredits all your experience.”
Also on the Power List was pioneering scientist Dr Jane Edwards, who played a key part in efforts to develop a vaccine to combat Covid-19, and a pair of GCHQ job-sharing deputy directors involved in counterterrorism, both mothers to young children, each working 28 hours per week, and a doctor who returned to the front line during Covid-19, following six years out of work raising five children.
Previous winners include Nicola Mendelsohn, now vice president at Meta.
This year was the 10th list collated by Timewise, the flexible working consultancy that was co-founded by Karen Mattison in 2012. And what a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago, three-quarters of people believed that senior part-time jobs weren’t possible. Today, some 750,000 people are working in senior-level and business critical jobs in the UK, according to new Timewise analysis of data from the Office of National Statistics.
And while there has been a seismic shift with the pandemic thrusting us into flexible working, the missing link is the lack of flexibly advertised, senior level, part-time jobs, with supply a long way behind demand. So much so that around half of adults in the UK still think having a senior part-time job would be impossible, says Timewise.
This was certainly the case for Gillary (left) in 2017 when she was made redundant from her position as head of insight for Premier Foods, where she built brands for some of the nation’s biggest names, including Mr Kipling, Sharwood’s and Bisto.
“I was working four days a week when I left Premier Foods – I’d negotiated that as part of my return from maternity leave – and I wanted to continue working four days, but faced challenges from recruiters and the fact jobs weren’t advertised as flexible, only ‘full-time’. I found it tough and recruiters said I wouldn’t be able to get a senior role four days a week.” Later that year she joined Kantar as group director on a four-day contract.
After the death of her father two years ago, Gillary was inspired to pursue her dream of qualifying as a personal stylist. She has since set up her own business, The Styling Works, and runs a community of 7,000 women on social media. This success prompted Gillary to reduce her hours to three days a week to work across all her interests while raising her daughter.
How important is dressing ‘right’ when it comes to work? “I’m a big believer that you bring your whole self to work. When you are not authentic, it comes across.
“Lots of people adapt their clothing choices to the people they’re with or the environment they’re in so, suddenly, when faced with more flexibility or choice (like we have now), it can be really hard as you’ve worn a self-imposed uniform without realising it.”
When it comes to post-pandemic dress codes, Gillary says: “The world of work is changing and lockdown accelerated that. Casual is more acceptable. People have smart office attire and realise they don’t need to wear that any more, but also don’t have their own sense of style to flex it or casualise things. Emotionally this can create so much anxiety for people.”
She adds: “Working from home has made us realise you don’t have to wear a shirt and tie to do a good job. And the Zoom culture has changed things, putting more of an emphasis on our top halves. I change my glasses all the time! We should consider things like big collars, layering, structured shoulders, cool glasses – where all the drama is on your top half.”
Chingford-based Gillary is also, as she puts it, “on an ADHD journey” and says being featured on the Power List was great validation that “you can still be senior and part-time and it’s a massive ‘in your face’ to all those recruiters who said it would hold me back”.
Instagram: @thestylingworks
Gillary’s five style tips for the new era of work
• Make smarter attire more casual by mixing in low key items such as T-shirts and trainers
• For Zoom calls, add a statement piece of jewellery or a pop of colour. If you wear glasses, consider eyewear an accessory like anything else – match them to your outfits and have fun! Blazers are a secret weapon for any ‘surprise’ meetings – they smarten up any outfit
• Layering makes an outfit look more elevated – adding a third item to trousers and a top can make a big difference
• Roll up your sleeves and show your wrists. This is an easy and instant way to elevate a look
• Have confidence in your look. It’s the first thing people notice.
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