Case studies : Part-time sales manager: James

James studied zoology at the University of Leeds. After establishing a successful career as a sales manager he took the opportunity to relocate and work part time from the office and part time from home at the same time as developing his own photography business.

After finishing university I worked in several different jobs until I started my current job with a small company selling specialist software solutions to the private and public sector. In my spare time I developed my interest in photography and set up a small wildlife photography business.

After four years working at the software company my partner found a job which required relocation. Initially I wasn’t sure if I could continue in my job, but since I was interested in the opportunity the move would give me to expand my photography business in a more picturesque and rural setting, I decided to discuss the possibility of flexible working with my manager. After our conversation my manager asked me to send him a proposal for how flexible working could work in practice.

As the distance between new home and office was quite large, I wanted to keep travelling to a minimum so I arranged to spend one week in every two at the office. On the weeks that I was working from home, I also arranged to only work four days. Although the shorter working week would mean a slightly reduced pay packet, I felt that this was worth it as the wages lost for not working every other Friday would be made up for by increases in revenue from the photography business.

During the weeks that I work from home, I spend my time preparing tender documents, arranging meetings with clients and liaising with the office. Weeks spent in the office are busy catching up with colleagues or attending meetings with clients.

I really enjoy the fact that I am largely autonomous and, providing that my work is done, I am free to arrange my time as I see fit. I’m very lucky that my boss trusts me and appreciates the hard work that I put in. The main downside to having two jobs so far apart is that the travelling can be tiring. This is what I signed up to though and if this is the price to pay for being able to pursue my hobby in my spare time then it’s worth it.

My advice to anyone considering a similar move is to be honest with your employer and be willing to compromise if necessary. If your employer trusts you and values your work then they will want to help you work something out. If you work away from your office for part of the week it is also important to be good at communicating with your colleagues and to be confident in using web-conferencing, telephone conferencing and other technologies.