PARENTS

Are you resuming work after a maternity leave? Do you need to combine work with childcare? Join IKEA, we have something to offer to you.

VACANCIES

IKEA for children

IKEA has always been child-friendly. In our stores, there are playrooms, baby changing tables and breastfeeding corners. In the restaurant, we have a kid’s meal, a space for warming baby food and high chairs. In short, we think that children are the most important people in the world and they are always welcome in our stores. We produce and sell toys that support proper child development from an early age. We offer safe furniture for children’s rooms for all age groups. We cooperate with UNICEF on supporting childhood education in the poorest countries in the world.

IKEA for parents

Parents with children represent a large group of IKEA employees. We offer jobs with flexible working time so you can pick up your child from preschool in the afternoon without worries. In other cases, you can adjust your work shifts if you, for example, need to leave every Wednesday afternoon to accompany your child to an after-school activity. We often arrange shorter working hours, which are adjusted to our staff’s living circumstances. Some jobs allow partial home office working.

Staying in the loop during a maternity leave

A maternity leave should not be a handicap in the labour market. We stay in touch with our colleagues on parental leaves, inform them regularly about what’s up in IKEA and meet with them. We think of them and invite them to corporate parties.

Some of them are proactive and want to join work projects as soon as their children grow a little older. That is why we allow them to work part time or from home according to the nature of their jobs so that they can dedicate time to both their families and their work.

Current vacancies also suitable for parents

WHAT A SELECTION PROCESS LOOKS LIKE

Flexibility and career development

If your circumstances change, you can arrange an adjustment of your working hours in IKEA or simply try working in another department which may better suit your current possibilities, interests and needs. You need not be afraid of switching to another field. We provide a whole range of internal trainings and managers always support new members to the team so that they can integrate quickly. In IKEA, you simply can be yourself.

What are our co-workers' experiences?

See what our co-workers say about what it's like to work at IKEA, what they like about working for us, and what they were nervous about before they started with us.

What do you appreciate about IKEA as a working parent?

My younger daughter was born with Williams syndrome and needs much assistance and support. That’s why I decided to work part time.

In the last 22 years, I have had the opportunity to work in various jobs and departments in IKEA. There has never been any problem with adjusting my working hours to my family needs.

I know that parents of handicapped children have a very difficult position in the labour market. I am very grateful that I can adjust my time so that I can care about my daughter without being excluded from the labour force.

What work did you do during your parental leave?

A great advantage of working in IKEA is that you can arrange in advance the number of hours you want to work. I worked as a saleswomen in two afternoon shifts at IKEA’s Children’s department so as to be able to meet my parental responsibilities.

What was your biggest fear when you resumed work after your parental leave that turned out to be a needless worry?

There always was a friendly atmosphere in IKEA so I did not fear anything when I was getting back to work. I knew that my colleagues would help me with things I did not know and back me up with their experience.

What is your recommendation for combining family life and work?

Everyone is in a different living situation. You need to manage your time so that you avoid unnecessary stress and feel good about yourself. If you do, you are able to transmit your positive energy to your family members and colleagues at work. A relaxed atmosphere is very important to me.

What do you appreciate about IKEA as a working parent?

I really appreciate IKEA’s attitude to mothers and I’m grateful that I can work during my parental leave. After what I had learned during my previous parental leave, I didn’t want to stay at home during the whole leave.

That is why I contacted the HR department. My colleagues were in touch with me and sent me information about employment vacancies.

What work did you do during your parental leave?

Before I went on my parental leave, I worked as a manager at the Swedish Food Market and the Bistro. Luckily for me, the position of an administrative assistant in the HR department opened up just when I was about to get back to work. I passed the job interview and took up part-time employment.

What was your biggest fear when you resumed work after your parental leave that turned out to be a needless worry?

Thanks to working during my maternity leave, I do not have to worry that I would feel insecure or unfamiliar when I return as a full-time worker. It’s the opposite. It allows me to stay in touch with my employer and my work group so that I do not feel being “cut off” from reality.

What is your recommendation for combining family life and work?

It is advantageous that you can work part time and plan your shifts according to your needs. This flexibility allows me to adjust my work according to the childminding capacity and schedule of my partner and my grandmother. I think that every parent who takes care about their infants should have the possibility to work. I am glad that IKEA has such a friendly attitude as this cannot be taken for granted with some other companies on the labour market.

What do you appreciate about IKEA as a working parent?

IKEA caters for parents and staff in general. I can agree with my manager about the change or the adjustment of the shift whenever I need it.

Thanks to these opportunities, as well as thanks to flexible working hours, which are often unnecessarily perceived as a disadvantage, I can afford to work full time and also devote myself fully to my family.

I also worked part time in the past. IKEA gives this opportunity to its co-workers so as they can adapt their work to their life situation which is a fantastic advantage.

What was your biggest fear when you resumed work after your parental leave that turned out to be a needless worry?

I was worried about the change of my job position or decreasing the salary which turned out to be odd.

What is your recommendation for combining family life and work?

I sometimes used a help of a nanny (an au-pair student) for bridging the times when children come back from school or kindergarden, especially when I had small children. And it is necessary to have a job which you like. It is sometimes not easy at all when you have a lot of work. But if you like your job and colleagues and your work makes sense, you feel good there then you can manage everything easily.

VISION, CULTURE AND VALUES Benefits DEVELOPMENT IN IKEA