What if workplaces were designed by working parents?

Every Wednesday, I have to down tools at 3.05pm. Not 3pm. Not “around 3-ish.” Exactly 3.05pm. School pick up is at 3.30pm, it takes 9 minutes to drive there, and if I don’t arrive before 3.15pm, it’s impossible to get a car park within 20km (or at least it feels that way).

If I am in a meeting that is running over time, I have to apologise and say I need to rush off to school pick up.

But then I think to myself: Gah - why am I apologising?? Pick-up is a normal life activity.

Sadly, whoever designed the M-F, 9am-5pm work lifestyle was not a working parent who had drop off and pick up duties.

In a workplace designed by working parents:

• Meetings would be illegal between 3-4pm. That’s school pickup hour. Sacred time.

• Core hours would be 10am-2pm. Not 9-5. Because mornings are chaos and afternoons are taxi service.

• There’d be a “life happens” policy. Kid sick? No questions asked. School sports day? Of course you’re going.

But these would be some of the bigger changes:

• Results would matter more than hours. We judge productivity by output, not time spent looking busy.

• Flexibility would be the default, not a “perk”. Everyone would have it.

• Meeting culture would die. If it can be an email, it’s an email.

• The promotion track wouldn’t penalise part-time work. Because working 4 days doesn’t make you 20% less valuable. Often, it makes you 50% more focused.

These aren’t just parent-friendly policies. They’re human-friendly policies.

The childfree colleague training for a marathon? They need flexibility too. The team member caring for aging parents? Same challenges, different generation. The person doing their MBA at night? They’re juggling things in a major way.

I’ve been a working parent for 11 years. At Inventium, we’ve been doing the Four Day Week for five years. We’ve been remote-first for nearly six. We work to our Chronotype - and have done so for longer than I can remember.

So if you are a human, existing in a workplace that feels like it was designed by anything but, here are three things you can do:

1. Apply the 3.05pm mindset. Instead of apologising for life’s non-negotiables, get specific about your boundaries. Whether it’s school pickup, gym sessions, or caring for ageing parents, give yourself exact start and stop times and communicate them as facts, not requests. Research shows that specific implementation intentions (e.g. “I leave at 3.05pm every Wednesday”) are far more effective than vague commitments.

2. Audit your calendar for human-friendly patterns. Look at your weekly schedule and identify where you’re fighting against your natural rhythms. For example, block out 3-4pm across your entire calendar as “school pick up hour” or schedule your most challenging work during your personal peak energy times. Even small adjustments toward working with, rather than against, your life patterns can dramatically reduce stress and increase focus.

3. Flip the productivity conversation. Next time someone questions flexible arrangements, ask them about outcomes instead of hours. What specific results matter most? When you frame conversations around deliverables rather than desk time, you’re not just advocating for yourself, you’re helping shift the entire workplace culture toward what actually drives success.

See you next week...