WorkLife Stories

In this interview with one half of Two Dads UK, Michael Johnson-Ellis talks about how he and his husband Wes built their family through surrogacy and how this experience has led them to support LGBTQ+ couples wanting to become parents. Michael talks about how he hopes the law will change to recognise and support gay couples better and how he thinks corporate employers can help employees going thro...

In the latest episode of our podcast 'WorkLife Stories', Anna Richards talks to Lorna Cook and Devila Vekria who are both members of our Support Group for Carers of Elderly Relatives. Lorna and Devila tells us about how they manage their caring responsibilities alongside their careers including the challenges, routines and positive advice they have for others who may be in a similar position.

[Trigger warning]. In this episode, we hear from independent health visitor and birth trauma specialist Liz Poole about the different types of trauma people may experience around birth, how this trauma can manifest itself if the associated emotions are not fully processed and how colleagues and friends can support those we suspect might be suffering. Support can be sought from:  Pandas UK&nbs...

Cityparents’ Anna Richards talks to Joy Burnford, Founder of My Confidence Matters about progress in gender balance in the workplace, the main issues she sees for women at work today and how corporates and leaders can help to address them.

In this episode which recognises International Day of Disabled Persons on December 3rd, we talk to Esi Hardy, the founder of Celebrating Disability. She talks to us about her own experience of disability in the workplace and about how employers and managers can help their disabled employees and colleagues to flourish, be happy and fulfil their potential at work.

We talk to lawyer and father of two Robin Carvell-Spedding about flexible working for fathers and parental leave in the corporate world. A long-time advocate of flexibility and work life balance, Robin reflects on the impact of the pandemic on the role of fathers at home and at work and shares his views and experience of taking parental leave after the birth of his two children.

HR director Caroline Atkins reflects on her 30 year career of which 20 years has been as a working parent. She offers her advice and experience to other working parents and her views on remote, flexible and part time working that has helped her to get the most out of her career and family life.

Journalist and author Melissa Hogenboom talks to Anna Richards about the shift in identity that takes places as women become mothers as she explores in her book, The Motherhood Complex. They discuss the division of domestic responsibilities and the 'mental load' in families with two professional parents and the impact of these inequalities on women's careers, mental health and motherhood.

Simon Kettlewell has spent the last 20 years raising and caring for his 4 children. His latest novel 'Eternity Leave' draws on his experience of being the primary care-giver of his children while his partner pursued a senior level career in healthcare. In this episode, Simon talks to us about his book and the issues he has encountered around gender, identity, self-esteem and isolation. He offers h...

In our latest interview, British Nigerian author Nels Abbey talks about his experience of racism in the financial world, explains how we can all be better colleagues to each other and offers his advice to black people wanting to succeed in the corporate world as delivered through his very funny and satirical book ‘Think Like A White Man ’.

As many professionals return to some office-based working, Dr Jon Finn considers the habits – both positive and negative – that have been established during the pandemic and the practical, positive steps we can take to build a healthy and productive life in the future. In this interview we explore the impact of our increased reliance on technology through the pandemic and how we can adapt our habi...

Laura Nakano and Abigail Hadley from Accenture talk to us about the transition to working parenthood. Abby shares her experience of taking parental leave, returning to work and the different working patterns she has experienced, and Laura talks about Accenture's Expectant Parents Network and how employers can support their working parent employees.

Productivity specialist and author Grace Marshall talks to us about her new book 'Struggle' and how we can find positives and opportunities in life's more difficult times. She talks about the importance of making mistakes, allowing time and curiosity to grow and learn from them and how we can counter our natural response of fight and fight and find 'the treasure' in our struggles.

Helen Beedham talks to Pia Ellis and Mark McMahon, Co-Chairs of HSBC’s FLEX Network about their personal experiences of flexible working and how the FLEX Network is helping to broaden access to flexible working in their organisation.  This podcast was originally recorded in Spring 2020 for Cityworks. 

Anna Richards is joined by Emily Acevedo, an HR Director based in the US and solo mother to Sebastian, who has Emanuel Syndrome. Emily talks to us about her life with him from the diagnosis, its impact on her life and career, day to day living and how she manages as a single parent.

Anna Richards is joined by Natasha Kaye. Natasha is coming to the end of serving four years on the firm’s global Board of Directors, is the London Mental Health & Wellbeing partner lead and helps drive the firm’s diversity initiatives, including the Women’s Initiative. Natasha shares some of the turning points that have carved her career and is generous with her insights and storytelling.

As we start the new year under considerable stress imposed by Covid-19, Charlotte Worth an Executive Coach and Learning Facilitator explains how we can use the Positive Method to build self-confidence, re-energise, re-focus and contemplate the future.

Rachel Addis from PWC talks about how she became mother to her two adopted children, including the process of being approved as adoptive parents, how she managed her adoption leave with her employer and how her flexible role helps her to balance her home and professional responsibilities. 

Cityparents' Anna Richards talks to Sandra Paul and Áine Kervick from Kingsley Napley LLP, who are lawyers specialising in youth crime and justice. They discuss the dangers that the online world poses for children, the trouble that can arise from sharing explicit content online and how parents can help their children to avoid the associated risks.

Dr Sarah Vohra, consultant psychiatrist and author of The Mind Medic explains some simple and practical ways to help us live a calmer, happier life. She talks about the strain that COVID19 has placed on our mental wellbeing and shares some of the positives that we can take away too.

In the latest episode of Cityparents Talk, we talk to Mel Johnson from www.thestorkandI.com (Insta: @the_stork_and_i) about her decision to become a solo mother, the highs and lows of her journey to motherhood and how she balances solo parenting with her corporate career. 

Anna Richards talks to Paolo Gallo, the author, speaker, coach and former holder of senior HR positions at the World Economic Forum and World Bank, about successful careers, work / life balance and trust, motivation and tracking productivity within remote working teams. 

Geraldine Gallacher, the CEO of The Executive Coaching Consultancy talks to us about her #change4good campaign. The global pandemic of COVID-19 has forced a remote working experiment on the largest scale, and like us Geraldine hopes that a positive outcome of this terrible time might be a growth in acceptance of flexible working. Geraldine explores the feedback she hears from working parents in re...

Cityparents Director Helen Beedham talks to Uma Cresswell and Kirsty Wilkins who are current participants in Cityparents Mentoring Scheme. They discuss the drivers for taking part in the scheme, how the arrangement worked practically and advice that each shared for others considering joining this year's cohort. 

Anna Richards talks to Dr Jon Finn, the founder and director of Tougher Minds, about how we can apply his insights from neuroscience, behavioural science and psychology to help to build better habits to succeed and thrive in the City of London.