Working mums ’could set up business to spend more time with kids’
The majority of unemployed mums feel that a lack of affordable childcare and flexible working conditions are preventing them from returning to work, research has found.
Almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of British mums said the lack of family-friendly working conditions was a key factor in their decision to stay at home, the survey carried out by Redshift Research found.
Three-fifths (62 per cent) said they lacked confidence and this had kept them away from the workplace.
Despite this, over three-quarters of mums who are not currently self-employed said they would work for themselves if they could, and nearly half (47 per cent) have already considered working from home in their own business if they knew where to start.
Juggling work and family demands is a challenge for the 76 per cent of women who said the hours they needed to put in at work stopped them from returning to their job, even though 81 per cent of British mothers worked full-time before having children.
One mother set up her own company to allow her to spend lots of time with her children. Robin Bradley said her flexible hours allow her to generate an income "and have all the perks of a working life".
She said setting up a business can seem daunting, but she hoped that other women can find "the work/life balance that every mother aspires to discover".
