As a professional network, Workplay aims to equip women athletes with valuable tools to thrive at every stage of their sporting and professional careers. This includes helping women athletes to find flexible working roles.

In doing so, we’ve compiled the essential requirements for our partners when they place athletes in flexible working roles, as well as what other flexible options may look like.

Essential

• Organisations that support and acknowledge the sporting pursuits of women players, athletes and umpires, and ensure that they offer the right cultural fit to allow them to thrive in their working environment.
• AFLW and VFLW Players, and women involved in the umpiring program, train and play up to 20 hours a week during pre-season and the home and away season. To balance a non-playing career, flexibility in start and end times is essential to support them to attend mid-week training and games. During the off-season, they may wish to increase hours. Each athlete will have their own skillset and flexibility requirements.

Other flexible options include:

• Ability to work remotely or hybrid.
• Option to swap workdays or access unpaid leave for game days e.g., for Friday games or where interstate travel is required.
• Ability to scale up and down hours or days during the year e.g., potential to work more hours in the off-season (Dec – April).
• Compressed working week options.
• Option to job share.