Let's try this again - Work/Life Balance - What is your ideal?

kristynachicago

Katelobster

special snowflake- I'd like to be a SAHM when they are little (0-2ish) and go back to working outside the home part-time (which is what I do now). C'mon, winning lottery ticket that I need to make this happen...

traveltheworld

Katelobster said:

special snowflake- I'd like to be a SAHM when they are little (0-2ish) and go back to working outside the home part-time (which is what I do now). C'mon, winning lottery ticket that I need to make this happen...

I'm the opposite. I did not care for the infant years, but now that DS is 2.5, I want to stay at home more since he is so much more fun now!

aglenn

I don't know, I have a hard time answering because there are pros and cons to any option.  I work outside the home full time right now, although I have the flexibility to WAH here and there.  It's not a bad deal, but there are definitely days I wish PT was an option.  Other days I am really glad to have a solid 8 hours of uninterrupted work time to focus.  So...I am on the fence, I think. 

Samiantha101

WFH FT! Of course, that will never happen.

bumpuser10331514

Ideally, I would work FT away from home with super-flexible hours which is basically what I have now. The only thing I would change is either an onsite daycare or a daycare within a couple of blocks of where I work. I'd love to pop in on my lunch hour or be able to for a nursing break.

CarrieB.

SomebabiesMom said:

Ideally, I would work FT away from home with super-flexible hours which is basically what I have now. The only thing I would change is either an onsite daycare or a daycare within a couple of blocks of where I work. I'd love to pop in on my lunch hour or be able to for a nursing break.

Something like this. I wish I worked just a little bit closer to home so I could go home at lunch. Kids are home w DH during the day.

I currently work from home 1 morning a week to drive preschool car pool and love this!

skibunny59

I don't like working much and I would love to be able to SAH with my babies until they were like 5.  Actually, sometimes I think it would be nice to SAH permanently.  How wonderful would it be to have the whole day to get stuff done while DH and kids are at school and work?  

  

I can't complain though.  I am a teacher and I get my summers and various breaks throughout the school year.  I still feel like working full time with kids is too much and I always feel like I'm being pulled in so many different directions and running around like a chicken with its head cut off to get everything done.  I feel so much more relaxed when I am not working.

[Deleted User]

Boarding Preschool wasn't an option.

Four year olds are hard.

emberlee3

I am supposed to work 80% of full time, but this academic year has been nearly 100%.  It's too much.  I am thinking of going down to 60% for next year. 

Iblamethebeer

My ideal would be part time work, outside of home, with rigid hours and no blackberry.  I would gladly schedule around an "inflexible" 24 hour work week if it meant I knew I wasn't going to be interrupted by a work question or request the other 144 hours of the week.

2goingon3

The job I have my eye on is a combination of working from home and in the office. There would also be some evenings/weekends, but it would be possible to have a better family balance while not sacrificing pay AND doing what I truly love!

But, of course, the department is extremely small with almost no turnover and extreme competition when a position does come open. So.....pipe dream? Lol

umma4babes

traveltheworld said:

Katelobster said:

special snowflake- I'd like to be a SAHM when they are little (0-2ish) and go back to working outside the home part-time (which is what I do now). C'mon, winning lottery ticket that I need to make this happen...

I'm the opposite. I did not care for the infant years, but now that DS is 2.5, I want to stay at home more since he is so much more fun now!

This is me exactly! I went part time when DS turned 2 (now 4). I think it was a good move since he was more interactive at that age. I have a DD who is 8 months old as well. While I do enjoy my time with her, I feel like it's basically a grunt work... She's been a pretty easy baby so far but I don't feel like my role is as vital as it is for DS right now at 4. I'm actually going to take a break from work to stay at home full time (I'm hoping just a year) so that I can help DS transition from preschool to kindergarten better.

Ideally, I want to work part time, be able to work from home if necessary. And I want the work to be fulfilling.

djm31012

My ideal is part time (2-3 days per week) but I cant decide if I would rather have that as WFH or work outside the home.  If it were purely for the money/financial reasons, I would say WFH but if it were a job like I had now where I love the people I work with and for, then I wouldnt mind coming into the office for social stimulation.

jasminelorraine20

My ideal is what I do now. I feel like I have an identity working in an office, making rank and having subordinates to help mold for the future of our military. DS loves pre-school and his friends and teachers and I'm sure is having much more fun then just the two of us would have at home. I do look forward to our time on the weekends and after work though. FWIW, 7-4 Mon-Fri isn't bad at all.

mlee116

I voted PT, away from home.  I would love to just work 2-3 days a week and wouldn't mind going to an office so that I could see other people and surroundings.  It'd also be nice to have more time with DS without having to pull him out of DC completely.  I think he'd really miss it if he couldn't go at all.

litzo27

K3am said:

Special snow flake.. Mix of going into the office and WFH / fulltime.

This. Which is what I have now.

kristynachicago

I'm not sure if it's just that I'm still trying to find my groove (only been back in the office (full time) for 3 months), but I voted for stay at home mom...i really wasn't sure how I would feel about my career post-baby, but I learned a lot about myself while on leave and I feel like I was made to be a SAHM.  It's def not an option for me as I am the bigger bread winner and carry all of our benefits...maybe one day

skibunny59

kristynachicago said:

I'm not sure if it's just that I'm still trying to find my groove (only been back in the office (full time) for 3 months), but I voted for stay at home mom...i really wasn't sure how I would feel about my career post-baby, but I learned a lot about myself while on leave and I feel like I was made to be a SAHM.  It's def not an option for me as I am the bigger bread winner and carry all of our benefits...maybe one day

I feel the same way you do.  I do like my job but now that I have a kid and another one on the way I would love so much to be home with them.  DD is 2.5 now and I still feel like this.  Counting the days until maternity leave.  I'm taking 9 months with baby #2 and I can't wait.

thejucheidea

I want to be part-time for the first several weeks that baby is home then go back to full-time. I really enjoy my career.

ricekez

I voted part-time in the office, but I think my actual ideal would be full-time with unquestioned flexibility. I could work from home early in the morning, take my kids to story time, then drop them off at daycare and go to the office at 10:30. I could leave early enough to pick them up, play a little, and start dinner when DH gets home. Then I'd finish up work after they went to bed. I might only be in the office 10:30 - 3:30, but I'd do a full-day's work.

amieeyoung

kristynachicago said:

I'm not sure if it's just that I'm still trying to find my groove (only been back in the office (full time) for 3 months), but I voted for stay at home mom...i really wasn't sure how I would feel about my career post-baby, but I learned a lot about myself while on leave and I feel like I was made to be a SAHM.  It's def not an option for me as I am the bigger bread winner and carry all of our benefits...maybe one day

I want to stay at home, but am the one who holds insurance and my income is needed (though I could make it on less, but it would be moot b/c of insurance). Sighp- I wish I could at least have one day off a week or whatnot, but not so much. Maybe at some point I will find a job that is more flexible than the one I currently have but the benefits aren't bad. 

PaisleyRuth

Part time (15 hrs) outside the home is what I'm doing now, and I think that is turning out to be best for me.  I have worked a PT odd schedule at the office, then PT from home, then SAH for a year, then did 2 full days a week at the office, and now I do 4 half days while the kids are in preschool.  I'm liking having a consistent routine to all of my weekdays with 5-day preschool, and I get one free morning mid-week to run errands, see a friend, work out, etc. 

I'm very fortunate to have preschool, work & my house all within a mile of each other, and my work is somewhat flexible in the event that someone is sick, or preschool has a holiday or whatever - I can work around it or work from home if necessary.

NYMOM101511

I'd want to be a stay home mom, and maybe have a craft business on etsy, and hold little parties now and then.  That would be my dream come true,  but will most likely never happen .  Unless of course I win the lotto . 

mexicolombiana

I hate working.  If I never worked another day in my life I would be happy.  I have so many other important things to do in my life.  I wouldn't sit at home, I would volunteer more at my daughter's school, continue my work forming the PTA, work on bar association boards, serve on other not for profit boards, enroll my kids in more extra curricular activities.  And MAYBE just maybe I could file some bankruptcy cases on the side for cash if needed.  But I hate actually working.  

Also I would travel and stuff. 

skibunny59

mexicolombiana said:

I hate working.  If I never worked another day in my life I would be happy.  I have so many other important things to do in my life.  I wouldn't sit at home, I would volunteer more at my daughter's school, continue my work forming the PTA, work on bar association boards, serve on other not for profit boards, enroll my kids in more extra curricular activities.  And MAYBE just maybe I could file some bankruptcy cases on the side for cash if needed.  But I hate actually working.  

Also I would travel and stuff. 

Amen to all of this.  I laugh at that saying that goes "Find a career you love and you'll never work a day in your life."  I thought I found a career that I love but let me tell you it still feels like work and even though I like my job I would still much rather not work at all.