Reassuringly Expensive
Whilst rummaging through my Instapaper queue for some lunchtime reading I found this video.
I was struck by this comment:
thousands of people… working long hard hours, at jobs they hate, to buy things they don’t need, to impress people they don’t like
OK so this is perhaps a little overly dramatic, but it’s not that far from the truth for many people I think.
There’s go to be a better way. Right?
I had mixed emotions when I left Barclaycard as whilst it had, at times, been a challenging place to work I was also leaving behind the best piece of work I’ve ever been part of: mybarclaycard – Barclaycard’s new online account management site.
mybarclaycard is Barclaycard’s new online card account management site which launched late last year. I led the User Experience and User Interface design and development*, and believe we created a unique and revolutionary site years ahead of Barclaycard’s competitors.
And so it is nice to see mybarclaycard being recognised, and winning awards in both the financial services and wider design communities.
mybarclaycard won Best Online Initiative at the Card Awards. My favourite comment from the judges was “What everyone else ought to be doing”. Download their full summary.
And mybarclaycard has been commended by Design Week; with Barclaycard the only financial services company nominated.
It is only now I’ve had some space from the project and from the business, and seen the challenges prevalent in other large corporate bodies that I can appreciate just how bold and brave a project mybarclaycard was; especially for a bank.
I’m proud to have been part of the creation of mybarclaycard, and hope that Barclaycard continue to enhance and develop it. I can’t help but think about how awesome a mybarclaycard iPad app could be.
* Flash was not my choice – I was overruled.
I’ve just returned from a short business trip to Minsk in Belarus. As with my trip to New York I failed to take a camera, and so have another set of fuzzy iPhone photos.
Minsk was not what I expected; it felt more like old Europe than old Russia or at least what I imagine old Russia to be like. I’m due to return in April but frankly the fights back were so bad I’m unlikely to; check out the last photo – my knees still hurt.
I should really be getting to bed but thought I’d post this first.
When I signed up to Project52 last year I felt that having had a recent resurgance in my blogging I would have no problems writing a post a week or more, but I’m sitting here in week one and can think of nothing to write. I don’t want to write quick link posts or embed videos just to meet my weekly quota; although it is of course debatable whether writing about not writing is any better.
What I hadn’t allowed for when I signed up was starting a new job which I did just before Christmas. I’m once again commuting to London, which I have in the past mused about being a muse, but this time my days are longer and my job more demanding. Sadly London Midland now use cattle trucks rather than carriages so there is no opportunity to write on the train, and for the first time in recent memory I have no interest in sitting in front of my computer when I get home.
Sadly I fear that I may be falling at the first hurdle for Project52 which for me might just be Project1.
As I enter week three of working a four day week I thought I should keep my promise and update you on week two: it passed without incident.
The end.
Sorry, but I’m pleased to say there is little to report. It is working well for both me and my wife who is enjoying the flexibility it has given her in starting her new job. My HR contact has been very helpful in answering a few questions not least how do I calculate holiday.
I had been told I needed to deduct 1.25 days from my holiday for each day I took which didn’t seem 100% fair to me. The official process is slightly more elaborate but much fairer: you add your holiday allowance to the bank holidays and then multiply by 7 to get an hour based allowance. I then take 8.75 hours for each day I take as holiday. This means I’m not penalised by bank holidays and also gives me more flexibility should I want to take a few hours here and there during the year.
When I worked at Vodafone they introduced hour based holiday; it initially seems more complex but I’m now all in favour of it for the flexibility and fairness it brings.
I won’t keep blogging about the following weeks unless something extraordinary occurs.
If you have the opportunity to adopt a flexible working pattern I strongly recommend it. Employers I recommend you consider offering flexible working to your employees; I believe that they will be happier and more productive.