Talk to me about Part time

lorist202 · July 2014

Hi Ladies,

My maternity leave will be over approx. 8/12, and my boss is receptive to my working part time. We are considering 20- 24 hours. I have a 3 yr. old and a 7 week old.

If you work p/t, tell me all about the dynamic of how it works for you and your family (i.e. what hours do you work and why? What type of child care do you use? etc., etc.)

Anything else I should consider?

mexicolombiana · July 2014

I went PT at my job as an attorney back in April I think? BEST decision ever. I went from working M-F from 9-5 to working just Monday and Wednesdays. I still use my nanny for those 2 days. So I'm working just 16 hours a week.

I was just tired of paying my nanny so much of my paycheck and business had been a little slow at work so it was good timing. Also we have our health insurance through DH.

I have never been happier. Pretty much I just had to make sure we could swing it financially. My DH has been taking on more cases on the side to supplement our income so it's working out fine. Every few months I analyze our finances to make sure we can still swing it.

Next year I'll re-assess the situation and if I need to I know I can always go back to full time. Seriously though, I am SO happy to be working part time.

jlaOK · July 2014

I started working PT when DS was born (4 years ago) and worked 24 hours (3 - 8 hour days T-W-TH). I loved working PT and I had 45 min commute so working 3 full days seemed like the best option. I went to hourly employment and we were good financially as long as I worked my 24 hours but holidays, sick days, snow days, etc. made it difficult.

2.5 years ago I took a WFH job with a consultant. I still worked 3 days/week (24 hours total) but bumped up to 4 days/week (32 hours, M-Th) after 6 months. This was two-fold. We were planning on TTC for #2 and I knew that it would be better for us financially if I worked more hours. Also, the nature of my new job made it really difficult to take long breaks and pick back up with my projects. I now try and get 35 hours in in 4 days. I plan on continuing to work around 35 hours/week and will probably work 5 days/week in a year when DS starts kindergarten to avoid before/after school care.

I love that I have the ability to work PT but I do see myself going to more of a full-time roll. As DS got older he was more bored at home on my days off and wanted to go to daycare. I also felt less of a desire to stay home after I had DD. I love the flexibility that working PT gives me but I think that I'm better suited as a working mom than a SAHM.

We were fortunate that our daycare offers PT and we've been able to change our status as needed. DS is in daycare FT and DD is in daycare M-Th.

DH works for the federal government and he carries our medical insurance. I have my own private life insurance and retirement policies.

Sorry for the novel. My PT journey has changed a lot since DS was born.

Jills83 · July 2014

I have 2 children: DS is 3 and DD is 10 months. I was laid off from a FT job while on maternity leave with DD, but considered it a blessing because my former position had an hour long commute each way and long/weekend hours.

In my current position I work 24-30 hours per week. I am at the office M/T/R and do a few hours at home on Wed/Fri if needed and if the kids' nap schedules allow.

Both kids are in a center on my 3 office days. The part time rates are inflated a bit so rather than paying $320/week for full time I'm paying $265/week for part time. I wish it was more of a discount for part time, but we make it work.

DH carries our health insurance as he has since we got married.

Things I love: having an extra two days a week with the kids and getting to do library story time and stuff like that. Doing laundry on Wed/Fri so I don't spend all weekend doing it. Cooking dinner at least those two days.

Things that are kind of meh: Having to "restart" on Thursday after having Wednesday off. Feeling somewhat disconnected from coworkers (probably more so for me because I started here part time rather than moving from FT to PT). The aforementioned daycare costs.

ETA: fixed grammar and health insurance info.

justjinny · July 2014

I work 80% and love it. I am in the office full days Monday-Thursday and off on Fridays, which I use to do housework and appointments. I am in the office enough with this schedule that I can still manage projects and only sometimes have to bring work home or come into the office on a Friday when things come up. I feel like my career can still advance even though I'm not doing a ton of hours.

We pay for a full week of daycare, so I will usually drop DS off late in the morning, then run errands & clean the house for a few hours without having to worry about tending to a LO. Some days we skip daycare and just spend the whole day together doing something fun too.

MH just negotiated to go to a 80% schedule and will have Mondays off. When LO#2 comes this fall we are planning to enroll in daycare for just 3 days/wk so our cost of having 2u2 in daycare isn't too terrible compared to what we are paying now.

It's a little tighter financially to have 20% less income, but I look at it as only being for the next 5 or so years. We might go back to full time when the kids are in school or we might decide to do 5 shorter days if we can still swing it with a reduced income.

Katelobster · July 2014

I went PT after my daughter (now 2) was born. I work 3 full days a week. Half days were not really an option bc my mom is our childcare and my commute is an hour each way when I have to go to her house.

PT is great for work/life balance and if I could, I'd continue PT for many years. I love having all the extra time with my daughter and doing library story time, trips to the zoo, Gymboree, etc.

The downside at work is that I miss a lot of what is going on and i feel like its hard to 'get my head in the game.'I have a three day weekend every week and it's hard to remember where I left off and what i needed to do next. My boss used to take me to a lot of meetings and daytime work events so I could network and learn, and that never happens anymore. Occasionally coworkers get mad at me because they don't remember my schedule and then need something (usually something they could have asked earlier but didn't). On a personal level, I feel like many people (ILs especially) completely stopped taking my career seriously.

On the being at home side, I love it, but I feel like I'm supposed to get all the shopping and chores and cooking dinner and activities with DD squeezed into 2 days off, which has gotten progressively harder as she's gotten older. I also have some SAHM friends now and I get left out of a lot bc I work most of the week, which is not a huge deal but kind of a bummer.

Best of luck with your decision!

reb84 · July 2014

I worked PT before and after DD1 and loved it. I also worked flex time so as long as I hit my 24 hours a week (had to get 24 hours to keep benefits) I was good. I initially went back for 3 days a week then gradually went to working 24-30 hours over 5 days a week. Our childcare was always fulltime, but my pay still covered that. Now I'm working full time at a different company and long to do PT again.....Maybe I can ask for it after my mat leave but not sure how that'd go over. We're really slow but my boss might think it will hinder my career advancement. I would definately take the PT if I were you!

sadie+w · July 2014

I work 80%, M-Th, and I love it. My ds is almost two. When I first returned from leave, I came back at 60% but felt I could handle more, so bumped up to 80%. At first I was in the office MWF, and worked half days from home on T, Th. but I never felt I could get into a routine. I have been much happier since switching to my current schedule. I am generally home on my work days by 4:30 or 5, and we also hire a lot of things out. So our 3-4 hours every evening and three day weekend is good quality time, which is a big part of why I am happy working 4 days - otherwise I think it would be too much for me.

dashofreality · July 2014

I went PT 3.5 years ago, and for me it has been fantastic. I originally went PT working 2 days in the office and 2 days at home. Eventually I have gone to PT WFH, 9/9:30 - 4:30 M-Th. Until recently I have had full time care, even though I only work 24 hours. This is because I have a corporate job that is usually full time. To make my situation work, I wanted to make sure that I was available when I needed to be. My work schedule is pretty set and I now have both kids on predictable schedules so I've been doing preschool in the morning I pick them up at lunch, put them down for nap and then I have a nanny come for a few hours.

I am looking to bump up to 32 hours a week, I will just stretch my M-Th hours and go with more traditional care. It has been so fantastic when the kids are young. I would go crazy as a SAHM, but this way I still have time to do dinner, hang out with the kids, and get things done.

kimberlybethh · July 2014

I usually work but the part-time post caught my eye. I have been part-time since DD was born almost two years ago. I typically work 20 hours a week (7:30 to 11:30). I'm a grant writer so depending on the project I'm working on I do work more hours if I need to in order to meet deadlines.

I love my arrangement since I feel I have the best of both worlds. I'm not cut out to be a SAHM but really enjoy the extra time I have with DD. It also allows me time to go to the gym or do errands if I need to during the week.

We pay for full-time childcare. However, we only pay $100/week. DD is rarely there full-time but we need it when I have to work longer hours. Daycare expenses will become more of an issue next year when we have to switch to a center that offers pre-school programming.

The downsides of working pt for me is health insurance. I had amazing insurance when I was working full-time. I can get it working pt but it is insanely expensive so we had to switch to dh's insurance. The other downside is that all childcare related stuff falls on me since I'm only working pt. Anytime DD is sick or needs to go to the doctor I'm the one that has to take her. Most of the time it isn't an issue but when I have a deadline it is frustrating that dh won't pitch in with that more.

kimberlybethh · July 2014

Sorry, I meant lurk

emberlee3 · July 2014

I have worked 80% since DS was 2 yo (he is now 5 yo and DD is 2 yo). My schedule is highly variable because I am a hospitalist in a medium-sized academic practice, so it's not really translatable to a M-F job. However, I love being 80%. I get full benefits and great perks from working for a university, although the pay is well below private practice.

The kids have been in full-time daycare, which gives me some weekdays to get stuff done on my own. DS starts kindergarten in August, at which point we have a nanny to take care of DD. Nanny will be off when I am off (except for times when I have training, meetings, or volunteer commitments). I anticipate that it will average to about 30 hrs/week for her. It will cost about the same as keeping DD in daycare FT, plus before/after care for DS.

Russiandea12 · July 2014

I work 32 hrs, 4 days a week and love my day at home with my son, Mommy Day! My DH is a pastor so he's off one day during the week, so DS goes to DC W-F. It's a nice balance for us but I have a long commute, so hoping to negoitate a 3 day in the office and 8 hours at home schedule after returning from maternity leave or am possibly considering leaving my PT position for a FT one close to home.

hmd · July 2014

I went down to four days when DS1 was a few months old. It was not my choice at the time, and I took a pay cut. This was when the economy went south.

However, it turned out pretty nice. I chose to be off on Fridays and DH is also off that day because he works 4-10s. So we had a long weekend together.

When DS 2 was about 15 months, we had some daycare/babysitter issues and I told them I was either going to have to go down to 3 days/week or quit altogether. They let me go down to 3 days, and this time I didn't have to take a pay cut.

Of course, sometimes I feel like I am never really off as people will call or e-mail me on my days off. I answer when I need to and it is convenient and do the rest when I am back in the office.

It is nice to be home two days and catch up on things. I chose my 2nd day off to be Wednesday, so I work Monday/Tuesday/Thursday. I have still debated quitting completely and also finding a full-time job sometimes! LOL!

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