Balancing Work & Family

With increased employment among mothers, family employment patterns have shifted over recent years due to several social changes such as improved access to post-school education, greater flexible work arrangements and greater availability of childcare and maternity leave (ABS, 2003). As outlined in the figure below the number of couple-with-children families featuring two working parents has increased over the years where we see a 12% increase from 1991 to 2016. As a result, working parents face a new set of challenges and have added commitments to juggle, and less time to handle them.

Source: Australian Institute of Family Studies 2020

Times have evidently changed where we’re seeing more and more organisations adopting a more flexible approach when it comes to work arrangements for parents but there are still those draconian leaders out there who have little to no empathy for working parents. So, it’s important as leaders we manage our own individual well-being where a key part of that is making sure we have an adequate work-life balance.

Do you find yourself working back late or just over tired and then struggling to make it back in time to get dinner ready let alone have quality engagement with the kids? In fact, because our lifestyles are so busy, almost 50% of Australian families are moving away from eating meals together at the table, although 3 in 4 Australians still believe that dinner time is the greatest family connector. It can be a difficult juggle when you’re preparing dinner and getting ready for the next day. But it can be worth taking the time to stop, listen and connect with your child as it helps reassure children that they’re loved, safe and secure.

The Around The Table concept was built around this daily struggle families often face by taking away the hassle of dinner prep and work towards creating greater quality family time! Did you know, that by eating together as a family, as little as 3 nights a week, you will be increasing your child’s resilience levels and self-esteem? Or that by having engaging conversations over dinner you will be lowering the risk of your child having depression, or an eating disorder? All that, whilst also increasing their vocabulary and communication skills.

Research shows that children who eat regular family meals together (a minimum of 3 per week) show evidence of the following:

  • Higher self-esteem
  • Higher grades
  • Higher vocabulary levels (above just reading)
  • Higher levels of resilience
  • Lower rates of substance abuse
  • Lower rates of teen pregnancy
  • Lower rates of depression
  • Lower rates of obesity and eating disorders. 

Around The Table are dedicated to helping you remove dinnertime hassles, so your family can enjoy connecting over this important nightly ritual, more often. Our chef has designed a family-friendly range of 15 premium meals, that kids love, plus a selection of sauces, sides and mains so that you can create your own meals in minutes. By saving you hours in the kitchen, you can transition from getting home to sitting down to eat faster, investing more time into bonding Around The Table.

We also support family fun and engagement by including 5 of our unique Activity Cards that are designed by experts to help facilitate engaging conversation and provide an atmosphere of fun during family mealtimes.

Order from our range of family favourites that make it easier for families to come together and enjoy dinner. To get 15% off all meals and/or Activity Cards – just use code OCCULUS15 at Around the Table

Share this post

NEWSLETTER