Energy UK boss reveals his ‘guilt’ after long hours at work Business

The CEO of a major business organization has exposed the “constant guilt” of working long hours while raising their young child, as millions of parents struggle to balance family life with the need to work from home.

Speaking to The Juggling Act, a The telegraph of the day podcast, which you can listen to on the audio player above, Emma Pinchbeck said that on some occasions it has been necessary to breastfeed in “meetings with really important stakeholders … like number 10 Downing Street”.

The boss of Energy UK said it was sometimes ‘a distraction for me’ and ‘threw me out of my game a bit’.

She added, “I had no choice but to separate the mother part from me and the CEO part from me at these times.

“They had to somehow coexist comfortably and I found that difficult.”

Despite the challenges of working from home with a baby, Ms Pinchbeck said she was afraid she would not see her daughter again for most of the week once she went to the office again due to the demands of his role.

The revelations highlight some of the practical and emotional challenges of returning to work after having a baby and are part of a series of interviews The telegraph of the day led to explore how prominent women felt during this transition.

Ms Pinchbeck, 34, also revealed how she was interviewed for the role of CEO when her baby was just three weeks old.

Speaking of the challenges of taking on leadership roles in a male dominated industry, she said, “My organization hired me to do things differently. They recruited me when I had a three week old baby, they knew what they were doing… they did whatever it took so that I could do my job that way.

“The narrative of female exceptionalism for leadership is unnecessary, so I wear my failures as publicly as my successes and my baby as publicly as a suit jacket at this time.”

Listen to Emma Pinchbeck discuss the challenges of being a working mom on The Telegraph’s new podcast, The Juggling Act, on the audio player at the top of this article, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Join the Telegraph Women Facebook group to discuss the Juggling Act and more.