Understanding life as a single parent
Single parents face unique pressures. A family friendly workplace can help support them through flexibility and empathy. This is the story of how Enterprise employee Randeep Sagoo balances work with being the sole parent, in her own words.
My daughter is now 11 and in her first year in secondary school. We’ve been on our own since she was aged one. I love being her mum. She is my best friend. She just makes life better.
It’s very difficult coming out from a marriage as someone from an Indian background. There can be stigma.
I’ve been lucky because my father is my biggest supporter. He’s been very involved in raising my daughter and is her main father figure.
When I joined Enterprise as an IT Manager in Non-Fault Booking in 2019 my daughter was only seven.
I had been looking on LinkedIn for roles and was headhunted by Talent Acquisition. I had such a bad cold for my interview! But I got the job, and I haven’t looked back. There is trust at Enterprise, I feel valued and that I am listened to.
Enterprise encourages you to try different areas and I am now working in Billing and Admin. My team is mostly in France, Germany, and Spain – I only have one person in the UK.
“Enterprise encourages you to try different areas and I am now working in Billing and Admin”
I came into the office every day when I joined Enterprise. Then I started working a day a week at home.
That one day of flexibility opened a huge part of my daughter’s life to me and helped me to feel like a parent, especially working a full-time job.
It meant I could attend school events like assembly and school plays.
I had been totally dependent on my mum and dad to take her to and from school, then feed her and look after her. I would bring her home at about 6pm and she would go to bed.
It was hard because I didn’t have the closeness to her at school either. I relied on my sister-in-law, who has three children at the same school, to keep me up to date with all the school letters and news.
“That one day of flexibility opened a huge part of my daughter’s life to me and helped me to feel like a parent”
Single parents have very few entitlements once you earn over a certain amount and because I pay for everything – mortgage, house bills, childcare – I need to work full time.
We started working from home during Covid and we continue to work remotely. We are so productive, and we meet in the office regularly for team discussions. I diarise personal and professional development opportunities to achieve my goals. I feel very lucky to have this flexibility, it means everything.
It’s all about the positive mindset. There has been stress, strain, and upheaval. Now my mind is at peace, and I don’t allow stress through my front door.
I think if something is making you unhappy, you sort it. Get rid of the drama. Set yourself personal targets and goals. Nothing is impossible.
My daughter is very independent and arranges to see her cousins and grandparents during holidays. She’s organised and has plans. She sorts out my kitchen cupboards, makes me lunch and brings me a cup of tea when I’m working.
In term time she takes it on herself to focus on school work when she is at home. Then we’ll cook, garden, go out and watch TV together. We have quality time every day.
She’s got us both into K drama and she can even speak some Korean! We say goodbye in Korean and we have our own language.”
There’s the three Ps – if you have patience and persevere you will prevail.
FAPAR is there to remind me to Focus And Pay Attention, Randeep!
We love these little sayings, they put a smile on our face.
If you are interested in a career with Enterprise, please visit our recruitment website at careers.enterprise.co.uk
