Teryl @ Work

Maternity Leave – has it changed over the years?  I have two children, one 30, and the other 28 and, other than one 10 month extended holiday before we got married and two three month maternity leaves, I have been employed. When viewing my personal maternity leave, the major difference was the comparison between the corporate and small business approach to women going on maternity leave. It amazes me now, but when I had my daughter, I landed up having to manage a rather challenging situation. I had a company car and was working for an international company. As I was planning to go back to work, it hadn't occurred to me that they would take the car away, but about a week into my maternity leave, I received a phone call from my boss, who said he was going to pop around and collect the car. I still didn't get it, when he arrived with one of my colleagues, I guess I thought he was taking it for a few days. I  was very surprised when he informed me that as I was not ...

Women and Property Ownership – is it really 1%? As Women’s Month drew to a close in South Africa yesterday, I thought the topic of property ownership was worth further investigation. Over the past month, I have participated in a number of women’s events, both as a speaker and as a member of the audience. Some of the speakers have cited a statistic that puts 1 or 2% of property in the hands of women, globally. According to Philip Cohen, (link below ), this is a feminist myth that won’t die. All the reading I have done, subsequently, has indicated that the basis for this stat is not readily available although Philip Cohen’s article does offer an answer to the source. Cheryl Doss (link below) does give some interesting statistics around African property ownership and also says that the 2% is not based on documented statistical research. All this preamble is to get to the point that while the actual % is obviously important, it is also a reality that less women...

Yes, women are managing companies but do we still have our egos in domesticity?   Readers, I have to admit I love to cook. Yes, I am a pressure cook (not to be confused with a pressure cooker, which I have never owned.   I nearly won one last year, but the alternative prize was a weekend away, and under serious pressure from my husband, chose the latter.  It was nice to spend a free weekend in the Midlands, but it didn’t save the enormous amounts of cooking time that I hear a pressure cooker does…) Back to being a pressure cook – it is a two part definition: I love to explore new recipes for dinner parties (not that they happen that often any more) and have a definite methodology – 3 course dinner = 1 experiment and 2 tried and tested successful courses.   Sometimes the experiment is more successful that the tried and tested, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. The second is that I love to throw things together, left overs, combi...

What is confidential information?   What do we want to keep confidential?   The Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPI) has a few ideas around the subject.  (See below).  The question is “Is it possible?” or has the computer/social networking age changed the rules of privacy for ever?  Besides the high profile whistle blowers, we are exposed both personally and professionally at every turn.     Contractual agreements  While companies can get staff to sign Non Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and tie them up contractually, it is a tough ask to get people who live their lives through social networking to accept the weight of keeping private information under wraps.  When you are applying for a visa or a cell phone, you are required to give 3 months of bank statements.   Who looks at these?   We assume they have signed confidentiality agreements, but where are they stored?  It is my view that ther...

Are adults the present, if children are our future! Business, life, politics, we are always planning ahead, so much so that sometimes we neglect the very real present. We attach such importance to age that news articles rarely neglect to mention the chronological number of the star of the story. People are “too young” or “too old”.   When are we like the porridge in Goldilocks “Just right”?   I am not sure if we ever are. We have bought into the idea that if you haven’t achieved certain career objectives by 35 or 40, you never will, success has passed you by.   And guess what?   Hirers often buy into that, making the move into executive roles for the first time at 50 or 55 almost impossible. A disadvantage to women (and men) who decide that work and family during their child rearing years need to be more integrated and less career driven. Just over 15 years ago, I was advertising a management role.   An extremely...

With thanks to Maslow for the idea. As a leadership group at +Accsys (Pty) Ltd ,  we are constantly discussing ways to create a fully engaged company of people.  While there are obvious reasons around productivity and profitability, it is such a pleasure to be part of a company where everybody enjoys coming to work, and are all working to fulfil the same goals and objectives. Some years ago, we developed our own appraisal system, designed around employee expectations being aligned with employer expectations.  We had a very real concern, at the time, that we only found out what was causing unhappiness and disengagement at the exit interview. Setting up a model that created an environment where the line manager and the employee could openly discuss the job requirements, the company requirements and the employee's attitude and expectations, has made a significant difference. However, like all models, we have found that there are a number of factors that need to ...

I caught myself apologising to my GPS for not following her instructions and I swore at SIRI.  She wasn’t happy! Saying “Excuse me” when I am trying to get past my dogs amused my brother-in-law some years ago, because my sister does it too! Then there’s explaining to the ants covering the kitchen counter that I don’t really want to kill them, and couldn’t they just stay outside where they would be safer. I realise that dogs and ants aren't inanimate, but you know what I mean. I signal to turn into my driveway and garage even though there is nobody within miles and that’s just the stuff I can easily remember. The GPS is the worst though, because she completely intimidates me.   Especially if I have a route in mind, and she has to keep re-routing until I get to the part where I really need her help.   I am always worried she will get so irritated, she will decide not to assist me, so I tell her gently that I am going a different way, but will ...