A father of two young children, Adam* was desperate to take some time off to spend with them. However, the nature of his work – a high-pressure IT role – kept complicating things.

“Working for an international company meant I was always on. I had to take calls when my kids were home and when I’m making dinner, sometimes as late as 10pm and early as 6am,” he says.

“My meetings were late at night; everyone’s childcare mattered except mine. I tried my best to manage this, but the pressure was increasing.”

Taking leave was another issue entirely, often being dictated by quarter-end company results.

“When I’d get leave, it had to be after quarterly figures were released. It never coincided with my kid’s school holidays. I could get the Christmas days off, but I didn’t need it so much as my

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