“Shared parental leave gave us the flexibility to spend quality time with our children without feeling like you were abandoning your students and colleagues.”
We spoke to MDR’s Dr Edward Chambers about his experience of taking shared parental leave and the opportunities it provided in terms of work-life balance and flexibility.
Can you share a bit about your career, background, and your current role?
I am a Non-Clinical Lecturer in the Section of Nutrition. My research is broadly focused on understanding the independent and interactive effects of diet, exercise, and the gut microbiota on human metabolism and the prevention of common diseases.
How many children do you have, and what are their ages?
Two daughters. Flora (4) and Evie (1).
Can you share your personal experience with taking parental leave? How did you approach the decision? What factors influenced your choice of duration splits with your partner?
My partner and I decided very early to pursue shared paternity leave (SPL) and do a 50:50 split. With my two children, I took 6 months and 4 months paternity leave in total. My partner is also a Lecturer at the University of Surrey and the decision to take SPL was really dictated by the role and responsibilities of the job. We both have PhD students to supervise and ongoing research projects with co-investigators and felt it was unfeasible from a career/professional perspective for either of us to take 12 months leave alone. The SPL gave us the flexibility to spend quality time with our children without feeling like you were abandoning your students and colleagues.
Did you have any concerns about the impact of parental leave on your career?
Of course, I was under no illusion that parental leave would slow and impede aspects of my job. However, I just reminded myself that a grant application with a 90% chance of rejection could always be delayed for another funding round. I would only get the opportunity to spend quality time with my newborn child once in my life.
How has parental leave positively impacted your relationship with your child and partner?
I am a huge advocate of SPL and only had positive experiences. I feel truly appreciative that this opportunity existed for my partner and I to both spend extended periods with our children. I can’t see how I would have the same relationship with my daughters if I was at work throughout their first years. The SPL also gave my partner and I a mental break from parenting and a welcome return to the normality of work. Looking after a newborn is a lot like Test cricket, with long periods of boredom and drudgery only broken with transient periods of joy. We both would have been quite miserable doing the parental leave alone.
Were there any specific policies or support systems that helped you during your parental leave and return to work?
No specific policies, but my line manager (Prof Gary Frost) was superb in supporting the SPL and allowing me to take repeated month periods of leave. He also respected these periods of parental leave and I never felt bombarded with work emails.
What does the concept ‘work-life’ balance mean to you?
“The finest line a man will walk is between success at work and success at home. I’ve got a motto: Like your work, Love your family”. That is shamelessly stolen from John Candy in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. It might sound a bit naff but it captures my feelings on never letting work dominate your life.
Could you share any specific challenges you’ve faced in balancing parenthood and your career, and how have you overcome them?
Our biggest challenge with parenthood is how much time dropping off and collecting from the childminders eats into a working day. Before children, we would both work a standard 9-5 but are now far more likely to work in the evenings and on weekends. It is the only way to get the hours in so that research outputs are completed for career progression.
How do you ensure that you continue to pursue your own goals and aspirations alongside parenting and work?
I find balancing parenting with work knackering, and it’s very easy for my aspirations to slip to nothing more than “sitting in silence for 10 minutes”. Children can be time, money, and energy sappers, so I’ve found it’s essential that I actively maintain my own hobbies and interests.