We want people to love coming to work. It is a bold ambition but one which we genuinely believe will make a difference to the lives of our teams and, most importantly, to the children in our trust. It is really encouraging that our most recent staff survey showed that 80% of colleagues say they enjoy working with us, rising to 88% in schools that have been part of the trust for more than three years. We are genuinely proud of this. And yet, it also means that one in five people do not feel that way. If we are serious about being a trust where people thrive, then that matters.
My own thinking about what it really means to be a life-friendly employer was shaped during a discussion about maternity pay. Like many trusts, we wanted to do better for staff at what is a joyful, but often financially challenging, time. But that conversation prompted a more personal reflection for me. Nearly twenty years ago, while going through multiple rounds of IVF, maternity leave felt strangely exclusive. It reminded me that life does not follow a predictable path. Not everyone’s experience fits neatly into traditional assumptions about family, caring or career stages. That was the moment I realised that if we genuinely want to be a life-friendly employer, we need a much wider lens.
This is not about chasing the ideal of “work–life balance” a concept I do not believe reflects reality. Life does not sit on one side of a scale with work on the other. Instead, I prefer the idea of counterbalance, as described by Gary Keller in his book The One Thing. Keller recognises that life is made up of multiple ‘buckets’ each of which needs a minimum level of attention for us to feel that we truly ‘have a life’. What matters is whether people feel able to do their job well while also living a life they want; one that feels human, fulfilling and sustainable.
At the heart of our work to become life-friendly is inclusivity. The key question for me is simple: how do we support everyone to give enough attention to the parts of their life, their own personal ‘buckets’, so they can truly feel they “have a life” not just a job?
With that in mind, we are exploring a number of practical changes. These include continuing to develop and actively promote flexible working; increasing maternity and adoption pay alongside better support and coaching for colleagues returning from long-term family leave; and reframing “paid emergency time off for dependants” into “paid time off for life events”. Life does not only happen to dependants. A broken boiler, a poorly pet or a crisis that matters deeply to you still affects your ability to work and to cope.
We are also looking more closely at how we support neurodivergence. Following a truly uplifting conversation with a neurodivergent colleague from another trust, much of which was centred on the unintended consequences of unclear policies, I was prompted to look more closely at the research. What struck me was how consistently it points to the impact that ambiguity can have. When expectations are vague or open to interpretation this can heighten anxiety, increase cognitive load and make it harder to prioritise, initiate or sustain tasks, particularly for those who experience differences in executive functioning or a heightened sensitivity to uncertainty.
In practice, what feels like a minor ambiguity to one person can require significant additional mental effort for another. This insight has started our journey to explore how we can improve the working lives of our neurodivergent colleagues by deepening our understanding of their lived experiences. We will also be reviewing our policies to ensure they are clear, accessible and genuinely inclusive. When re-reading our dress code policy I was struck by its lack of clarity. It referred vaguely to “dressing suitably taking account of health and safety”. Taken literally it is unclear, unhelpful and potentially anxiety-inducing. Would people be wondering whether they needed to invest in a hazmat suit?
Alongside this, we are working towards ensuring schools have prayer rooms and quiet spaces; rethinking funeral leave so it reflects meaningful relationships rather than the current narrow definitions of family; broadening benefits to support different life stages, from first mortgages to later-life planning; and strengthening education and support around menopause.
These are just some of the ideas we are exploring. None of this is about creating a perfect offer or having all the answers. For us at the Ted Wragg Trust, what matters most is our ongoing commitment to listen, reflect and adapt. Becoming a truly life-friendly employer is not about a set of policies; it is about a mindset, a commitment and a willingness to keep doing better.
If we want to recruit and retain great people, reduce burnout and build sustainable places to work, this approach matters, not just for individuals, but for the long-term health of our organisations and the education system as a whole.
If you are also working to create a culture where people can truly thrive at every stage of their life and career, I would love to hear from you. By sharing our ideas and insights I know we can intentionally shape workplaces where everyone feels able to flourish.
- Lisa Thomas is Director of People at Ted Wragg Trust
We welcome perspectives from a diverse range of guest contributors. The opinions expressed in blogs are the views of the author(s), and should not be read as CST guidance or CST’s position.
