How flexible arrangements enforced by Coronavirus pandemic have enabled this mum’s career to progress

A driven mum says that working from home due to the Coronavirus pandemic – and a supportive company in Derbyshire-based Axess Systems – has enabled her to move up the career ladder.

Mani Sarwar joined the IT firm two-and-a-half-years ago when her son, Noah, was a toddler.

But with the flexibility and technology available to her, Mani has been able to increase her working week by 12-and-a-half hours; going from a part-time role to a full-time position – and bagging herself a new role, too.

“I always had it in the back of my mind that, once Noah was at school, I would increase my working week,” said Mani, a Project Co-ordinator for Axess Systems; which specialises in supplying IT systems which enable users to work securely from anywhere, on any device and any network.

“Noah started school in September and I was offered a different position with a more demanding work load, a more operational role within Axess Systems, and, having been working at home during lockdown, I found that the flexibility which home working offers suited my lifestyle and that I could cope with the extra two-and-a-half hours each day.”

Axess Systems are one of many organisations who have found benefits to employees working from home after the Coronavirus lockdown forced the majority of the UK to stay home earlier this year.

In a recent survey undertaken by the Institute of Directors, which quizzed almost 1,000 of its members, nearly three-quarters (74%) said they would be keeping increased homeworking once lockdown restrictions had been eased.

More than half of those polled said that their organisation intended to reduce their long-term use of workplaces, while more than one in five reported that their usage would be significantly lower.

Microsoft, Google, Uber and Indeed have all extended their work from home policies and while Mani has been supported by Axess Systems as she works from home, she doesn’t want to spend all of her time in her home office.

“I do find that, for me, a balance of a couple of days in the office – Monday and Tuesday – with three at home helps me to stay in the loop with what is going on at our headquarters,” said Mani.

“You have to be very disciplined to work efficiently from home, which I am, and the new role which I’ve been able to take on has given me added confidence as a working parent.”

Founded 20 years ago, Axess Systems employs 20 people at its head office in Denby and its regional office in Southampton and is one of the country’s leading IT infrastructure providers.

It is one of only 11 UK firms to have achieved the coveted Gold Citrix Solution Advisor level with a specialism in virtualisation.