With an internal relaunch of our Parents Network coming in April 2024, I wanted to share my personal journey of being a working parent at Auto Trader…the ups, the downs, the juggle and the joys!
I started working at Auto Trader in 2009 as a temp doing a week’s worth of admin, but they identified my potential and hired me in a permanent role! I started as an order processor working near my home and quickly progressed into an account manager position looking after medium—to large independent car retailers. I started Auto Trader at the age of 24, and at this point, my career and earning money to live life were my only goals!
Personal family losses occurred in 2017, and my perspective on my life and my future changed. Me and my partner decided to try for a family of our own, and I was blessed to get pregnant in 2018… Upon finding out my news, Auto Trader was amazing. They quickly gave me all the information about maternity support and ensured I was comfortable in my everyday work. Because of Auto Trader’s generous maternity package, I could spend nine months with my baby before returning to work… even though my job was still a big part of my life, Motherhood was now an even bigger part. So, with clear guidance and support, I dropped a day at work for a four-day working week, committing to my career and then a long weekend with my family. This balance worked so well for me and still does now, having two children.
With my second child, I was pregnant during COVID-19 (yep, I was a pandemic pregnancy!). This pregnancy hit me a lot differently, and I was diagnosed with pregnancy depression and struggled a lot more physically…. The second time around definitely left no room to rest chasing a toddler with a bump! Again, though, I had abundant support from Auto Trader, who, with counselling and occupational health, made sure working from home was comfortable. The support was unwavering!
2022, and we were a hybrid company, working in the office and from home. Being a further distance from the office than most makes my day-to-day much more balanced and allows me to be involved in school/nursery pickups and drop-offs while still being a valued employee. As a company, they really strive to help us achieve this balance!
Following my return from maternity the second time around, I did find life’s shift from a family of 3 to 4 a BIG change in dynamics, so I found myself back to square one, finding that work/life balance. My mental health wasn’t the strongest, and imposter syndrome had taken over, and I felt in a very low and difficult place. My manager recognised this immediately, and the support came to me in abundance; I could work on myself, finding my own personal rhythm as a mum of two and still work and grow my confidence in my role. I was guided to support through counselling, coaching and, most of all, genuine empathy from great managers at Auto Trader who truly understood the juggle of being a working parent!
This led me to join our internal network, formerly the Family Network, which will soon launch as the Parent Network. It is a group of colleagues from all over the business coming together in their everyday roles to discuss and implement ways to support and guide our parents at Auto Trader. My purpose for joining was to make sure everyone had the amazing support I had on both my return to work and then the continuous guidance and support throughout the different stages of parenthood!
Within the Parents Network, we have spent time crafting resources and guidance tailored for new and seasoned parents navigating various stages. Our commitment is to ensure that parents are well-informed about accessing the array of support services the company provides, such as Maternity Buddies to help them return to work and maternity and Paternity leave benefits so they understand how to plan their time off after the baby is born. Childcare Back Up offers up to 6 days of backup care service for nursery or school holidays and healthcare provisions for families and beyond.
Additionally, we have hosted several coffee mornings addressing sleep deprivation and fostering healthy screen time boundaries; this has given parents time to sit with a brew and speak to other parents and, in some cases, experts on subjects of parenthood. These have been delivered in hybrid to cater for all employees. We have also run webinars to empower parents to navigate the new childcare support and many other topics!
There is an internal social channel (Slack) where we encourage peer-to-peer support…after all, no parent knows it all, and there is definitely no written handbook for the role of parent! BUT we do pride ourselves in knowing we are a network that will support, guide and encourage parents as much as we can in Auto Trader…all facilitators in the Parents network are parents themselves, so you can be assured it’s coming from a place of genuine empathy!
I feel so lucky to have been a part of Auto Trader for 15 years now…, both pre-and post-children. I have nothing but the utmost gratitude and respect for their support in my journey through Parenthood. The long-serving 15 years speak volumes about what an amazing, inclusive company Auto Trader is.