Mama/work balance: experience going part time?

kafunder

I'd love to hear folks' experience going part time/getting Fridays off. Does it rock? Does it make life immensely easier? Do you feel "mommy tracked" b/c you asked? Is it worth the reduced income? I'm considering this but so nervous about asking and about reducing our income and that when our babies are home with me on Friday, I won't be able to do all the fun things they do when they're at daycare.

 

MrsPhilDunphy

I worked part-time for C's first year and it was a great arrangement, however I'm actually pretty happy being back full-time. I knew my boss would be open to the idea because a few of my coworkers had done the same thing and I made it a bounded arrangement - I said I would come back full-time when the year was up and I did. For us, it worked out fine financially because we had basically been saving my salary for the year prior (but we're aggressively saving for a down payment for a second house now, so we wanted my F/T income back).

My biggest problem working P/T was scheduling meetings. If you'll only be out on Fridays, that might be fine (we hardly ever have meetings on Fridays because so many people have compressed schedules). 

DCtoLowcountry

I'd definitely explore PT options. I work 32 hours, but a reduced hour schedule. I'm in the office M-F (the "win" for my workplace) but I leave 2 hours earlier than other folks (the "win" for my family). The extra time means that I feel like I get some play time with DS in the mornings and evenings in addition to the routine. The quality of life and the sanity of working but not feeling constantly overwhelmed (just occasionally ) are well worth the trade-off in income for us. In my research, there didn't seem to be a financial difference in 4 day vs. 5 day daycare rates, and I like the extra time daily rather than a 3 day weekend. I plan on working this schedule as long as it will work for both my employers and my family.

I do feel "mommy tracked" but it's a consequence of making the choice to be PT so I've made my peace with it. I changed my portfolio and gave up a part of my job that I really enjoyed, but I see that as a temporary trade-off. My approach is that I'll likely be working 50 years total so a few years working less than FT isn't going to make or break my career. Feel free to PM me if you want more info!

 

 

Heather6907

After I had my second, I took 3 months off and then came back to work 4 days a week, but with Wednesdays off, instead of Fridays off.  I love the break in the middle of the week--I feel that I am never gone from home for too long. (And I  admit to liking the break that work offers.)

As far as being mommy-tracked, yes, I think I have been.  I am actually in a different position that was offered to me as a way to keep me here since my job generally requires a lot of travel, which I just wasn't willing to do anymore with 2 little ones.   So, for me, just accepting this job automatically meant less interesting work and the 4-day work week was just something I asked for.  I am lucky in that I can go back to my old job anytime or stay here as long as I want.  I think this is the hardest for me.  I used to love my job and now I really don't.  But, since I am never at work for more than 2 days in a row, it is manageable.

As for the pay cut, I do sometimes think about the things we could be doing with more money (mostly fixing up our house and yard, but also saving for the future), but I love the extra time I get with my children, so for now its worth it for me.

As far as making life easier, I suppose it does somewhat.  I am able to get laundry done and meal plan for the rest of the week and do a few other things so I have less to do on the weekend.  Some days I get more done than others.  

Mine are only 14 months apart and I used to make it a point to go out to a local coffee shop that has a decent play area and my older one would play and the baby would stay in the infant carrier or come out to eat and then happily go back in.  Now that my baby is 9 months (!) and crawling, that doesn't work anymore so in the morning we go for a long walk (weather permitting) and then play inside and outside at home the rest of the day.  It can be an exhausting day, esp. when DH works late, but for the most part, I am thrilled to have this arrangement.

vtkgirl77

When I went back to work after DD#1 was born, I requested to work 32 hours/week, Mon-Thurs and I took a 20% paycut since I cut my hours by 20%. In the beginning, I debated whether it was worth the money and whether it was necessary but it was one of the very best decisions I made as a new mom. I love, and I mean, LOVE having every Friday off. I call it my "sanity day". DD still goes to daycare so I use it as my day to get stuff done. The day is still busy (I don't sit on the couch eating bon bons) but it's freeing because it's based on my own rhythm and what I want to do for the day. I take care of bills, run errands, do doctor's appointments, plan menus, go grocery shopping, cook, do house projects, get my oil changed, do some photography, etc. DH works from home so sometimes we even do a lunch date. The best part is that because I can get so much done on Fridays, it frees up Sat and Sun so we can spend time together as a family. We go to the zoo, take walks, have lunch together, etc. I find that having Fridays off gives me the perfect balance of a career, "me time", and family time.

As far as being on the "mommy track", I basically put myself on the "work/life balance" track when I took this job 3 years ago. In that time, I've been offered a management position and more responsibility a few times but I refused them because I want to stay at my current level.  Also, I know that if I were a manager, I wouldn't be able to work part-time. So, it's not as much the company denying me opportunity as much as *me* making choices about my priorities.

The only piece of advice I would give is that if you do go part-time, set the expectation early that you are not available on your day off. I don't answer emails and my managers pretty much know I am not available on Fridays. It's a slippery slope if you start doing work on your day off so I took the road of setting that boundary early on in the process which has worked well. I also don't volunteer to come in on my day off. In the past 2 years, I've come in two times for a meeting (because it was with the CEO) but otherwise, I just say, "I'm not here on Fridays" and let people schedule around that.