BACK TO SCHOOL, BACK TO WORK – AND LET’S BE HONEST ABOUT PR
By Sam Allen, Associate Director
Half term is over. One week. Five days. And somehow it can feel like a month.
Kids going back to school always brings a mix of emotions – relief, tiredness, pride… and yes, a bit of mum guilt, because even though it was “only” one week, the juggle is real.
Did I balance my time well enough?
Was I too distracted by work?
Did I say “in a minute” too many times?
If you’re a working parent, you’ll know those questions don’t need much encouragement to show up. And let’s be honest, PR can be hard. It’s fast-paced, it’s reactive, deadlines don’t move because it’s half term, news doesn’t pause, clients still need answers and there are days when everything feels urgent at once and you’re switching between strategic thinking and creative mode in the space of an hour.
However, the good news is that it’s also a heavily female-focused industry. And in our case, a female leadership team. That matters, because when leadership understands the reality of juggling work and life, it shapes the culture in a very real way. It creates space for honest conversations, it removes some of the unspoken pressure and it makes flexibility feel normal, not like a favour.
Six members of our team are parents (many more are proud pet parents) so life outside work is full for a lot of us. School pick-ups, nursery runs, vet appointments, sports days, sick days, all the invisible admin that keeps a household moving.
We don’t pretend those things don’t exist, and, we don’t pretend PR isn’t demanding. Instead, we acknowledge and accept both. That’s what I’ve valued most over the ten years I’ve worked at Cherish.
Flexibility isn’t about lowering standards, we still work incredibly hard, we still deliver brilliant results and we still have deadline-heavy weeks and high-pressure moments – that’s the nature of the industry. But the difference is how we handle those moments.
We step in for each other, we reshuffle when needed, we trust people to manage their time, we don’t measure commitment by who stays online the latest, and, we don’t make people feel guilty for having a life outside of work.
That last part is huge.
In a female-led industry, many of us are wired to over-deliver, to prove ourselves, to stretch a little further, to carry both ambition and responsibility without dropping either.
Mum guilt can creep in quickly. So can work guilt.
The guilt of leaving a bit early.
The guilt of not replying instantly.
The guilt of taking proper annual leave.
Working in a business with a strong female leadership team has helped reshape that narrative. It shows, clearly, that you can be ambitious, commercially sharp and successful, and still prioritise your family, your wellbeing and your boundaries.
From Account Manager to Associate Director over the last ten years, I’ve grown up in this company. With that growth comes a real responsibility to protect and keep building the culture that’s supported me along the way. I’ve benefited from it at different stages of my career and life, and now it’s about making sure others feel that same support.
That means honest conversations about workload, proper planning around busy periods (yes, even one-week half terms), encouraging real switch-off time. And, reminding people that asking for help is part of being a strong team, not a weak one.
One week of half term can shine a light on a lot.
On the pace of PR.
On the pressure we put on ourselves.
On the mental load many women quietly carry.
But it can also shine a light on the strength of a culture built on trust.
Ten years in, I’m proud of the campaigns we’ve delivered and the growth we’ve achieved. But I’m just as proud that we’ve built an environment where six parents can thrive in a demanding industry, led by women who understand the juggle.
PR will always move fast and deadlines won’t disappear but when you build a culture rooted in empathy, trust thanks to strong female leadership, you don’t just survive the busy weeks, you navigate them together.