New job trends

Balancing work and family can be very difficult, especially if you have a new baby to take care of. Although South African law requires your company to accommodate your pregnancy and give you four months maternity leave, most moms feel guilty about leaving their new babies to go to work and they ultimately choose between the two. Well, you don't have to do that. At least not until you've spoken to your boss about the latest worldwide job trends:

Flexitime: You work the normal eight hours a day, but you choose when you're going to do the work during the day.

Job sharing: This is popular in the UK as more than 56 percent of working women in the UK have children under the age of five, according to the UK National Statistics. Job sharing means two people share one job. Your responsibilities are halved, but it may mean the same goes for your salary.

Half day: This means working half the hours of a normal working day. Some companies allow employees to work half day for a certain period of time after maternity leave. Some companies also recruit staff for half-day positions.

Work from home: In this instance you do all your work from home. Some companies allow this if you can achieve the same amount of work from home. But it doesn't mean you work fewer hours, as you'll be expected to carry out all your duties that you would normally do if you were working from the office.

There are many opportunities in the country. So, upgrade your skills in your field of work, and you'll be in demand, especially since there's steady growth in the employment rate.

Are you a working new mom? Tell us about your working arrangement in the box below.