The theme of 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD) was ‘Count Her In: Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress’ – in other words, giving women opportunities to build their capabilities, and strengthening their capacity to learn, earn and lead.

At UPco, we’re celebrating IWD well beyond the day itself, as we explore what the theme means to us. In this piece, we spoke with Faith Fuhrer, who has risen through the ranks at UPco after starting on reception. Now Coordinator of Communications, Faith talks about how making time for passion projects – whether it’s further education or activism – can actually make you more valuable in your ‘day job’.

Let’s start at the start, Faith. How has your role has changed since you first started at UPco? And has there been a particular highlight so far?

It’s hard to believe it’s been over 6 years since I joined the business – and I couldn’t have imagined how much would change! When I first started, I was the receptionist and we were still known as SJB Planning. A few years later, we embarked on a re-brand. As we built the UPco brand, comms needed some more muscle in-house, and I was delighted to be offered my current role. There have been plenty of highlights along the way, but the brightest has been having the chance to craft my own role. It’s driven me to discover what a business needs and explore what I can offer in response.

You’re currently combining working at UPco with university studies, activism AND charity work. What inspired you to take all of this on?

Until this point, I had always juggled multiple jobs (both day and night) to make ends meet. I didn’t really have energy to think about anything beyond that! Then I joined UPco and had a newfound sense of security and support. This gave me the mental space to begin my first ‘sideline’ pursuit, which was studying (and then tutoring) French at university. The extra mental stimulation was great, and helped me build the confidence to really sink my teeth into my Communications role when that opportunity came along.

One of my passions is animal welfare. And over time, a number of opportunities have cropped up to volunteer for causes I care about. With the communication skills I’d built up at work, I felt like I could raise my hand to help out in that area, and I’m really enjoying it.

Do your ‘non planning’ pursuits benefit your full-time role? Are there learnings you can transfer?

Definitely! When I learn something at one role, I like to try it out on the others. Any great ideas or techniques I come across in my side hustles, I integrate at UPco.

Even learning new technologies or meeting people with different perspectives benefits me in my day job. Trying out complementary skills has forged a deeper respect for what other people do – including the challenges they face. I think this is where being ‘jack of all trades’ can come in handy. By expanding awareness of other roles and learning a skill’s mechanics, I feel like you can better communicate and manage expectations between a variety of disciplines.

I’m also finding that, as my confidence and skillset build, I take more risks – and that’s where the greatest learning happens. There’s a constant momentum of learning transference that is (in the words of Moira Rose) “no less than a snowball gathering speed, picking up bodies as it rolls downhill.”

How do you find enough time for everything? And how do you prevent burnout?

I find I have to be really structured with when I work on a project, particularly with time management… otherwise I’m the type of excitable person who gets sucked into a vortex and comes out 3 days later looking like Tom Hanks after a couple of years on that island. That also means I’m prone to burnout, so I found a really good therapist (through UPco’s Employee Assistance Program) who helps me navigate the challenges that come with that. I really believe most of us can benefit from expert mental health support at times, and there shouldn’t be any stigma about it. It’s kind of like a massage or a personal training session, but for your noggin.

At times, I’ve also encountered a different kind of burnout. It’s when you’re always challenging yourself or stepping outside your comfort zone. I’ve found I have to designate times to engage in things with NO goal other than being in the moment – like dancing, or listening to a record from start to finish. The pressure of continuous progress can be overwhelming. And learning still needs to come from a place of knowing you’re enough as you are.

Why do you think it’s important for all people (not just parents) to have a degree of flexibility at work?

I think flexibility is important when pursuing any kind of growth. It’s hard to change when we (or our environments) are inflexible. We need to be allowed a little leeway if we’re to explore something greater than ourselves – whether it’s parenthood or activism. And, though some people are on the parenthood path, I think we need to afford the same flexibility to people on alternative routes. The upshot is that there’s likely a return on investment for businesses when they give employees the space and time to discover things outside the norms of their work and everyday life.

Stay tuned for more articles in our Count Her In series, which takes on topics from knowing your worth (and asking for what you deserve) to effective modern leadership (hint: it’s changing!).

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