Is Going Part Time at Work the Only to Make More Time with 2 Kids & a Spouse?

What will you gain by going part time? What will you lose?

For example, if part of what your salary covered was a cleaning service.... will you now have to do that yourself? In effect adding to your workload by reducing your workload?

Will you have to go shopping at more than one store to adhere to a strict budget so that you can stay within costs...rather than just buying paper towels at the grocery store and being done with it?

Will you lose insurance?

How will your same boss rework your professional expectations and responsibilities? Who will do the work that you are now doing? How will that affect your relationships with the other people you now work with? ie - if you leave will your work just be redistributed to your co-workers who are probably already maxxed out? Correct, not really your concern, but it might affect the "tone" at the office if your co-workers perceive they are picking up your slack.

It might be easier to find a part time job at a DIFFERENT location - a clean break so to speak, which might enable you to set clearer boundaries???

Or - if you DON'T have a cleaning service and that is what is adding to your chaos.... could you hire one rather than cut back on your workload? Could you order from peapod instead of going shopping? so that you have that time to spend with family or just not being as tired?

Also - if you love your work, will you feel like you are "giving it up" for your kids and hubby? If they don't "appreciate" your sacrifice will you be resentful? Or are you giving it up for YOU, which is the same thing, but a different tone and level of expectation for your families reactions?

How easy will it be for you to go back to full time in a couple years? It's REALLY easy to get "mommy tracked". What would that look like at your company and within your family?

Good luck.

.

Does you job offer a flexible work schedule or telecommuting?

A lot of folks at my work either work at home one day a week or they take a day off each week or every other week.

The working from home one day a week can be hard because people except you to be able to do housework or run errands since you are home.

The taking one day a week off, means that they work 4 10 hour days and take take friday off, or they work an hour extra 4 days a week and take every other friday off.

Going part-time is a big step. It can effect your work, your insurance coverage/payments, your benefits, you retirement. Not to mention your bank account. The only thing you could do as a first step would be to try and live on just the amount you would make if you went part-time. Put the rest into a savings account. Try that for 2 months. See how often you pull from the savings account.

Definitely a personal decision based on lots of factors including if you can afford to go part time. I will say that sometimes you need a career shift to make it work better. For example, after I had my second child, I was still working in the consulting side of my industry. Although I really loved a lot of things about my job, I had a boss that had tunnel vision and wasn't very family friendly. In other words, nothing was out of line for him to ask me to do... No amount of sales of number of billable hours was enough.... They always expected me to do more. I was a top performer in my State despite juggling a newborn and a 2 year old. I literally did not slow down until I put the baby to bed about 10 p.m. I was just frazzled and never felt "good" although I did appear like I had it all together at work. Then I got a full-time offer from my biggest client to come work for them full time. The money was WAY better. The schedule was better...I now work 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m with every other Friday off. I have a set schedule where I know when I am leaving work. I have much more control over my workload...I can plan better for upcoming projects. With consulting, everything was a 911 emergency and I was always getting something dumped on me at the last minute. The off Friday I have now gives me time to catch up on housework, do errands, and just get a little "me" time that I never got before. My stress level is SO much lower now.

My point in telling you this is that it already seems like you have some flexibility to your job. Not everyone has this. You don't say how old your kids are, but it DOES get a lot easier as they get older. Once you are done with formula and diapers, that is one less thing to deal with in the morning. Now I set out clothes for my 5-year old in the morning and he dresses himself while I dress the 3-year old. I can give my kids bowls of cereal and they eat while I am putting together lunches for everyone else. Everything becomes a routine and just happens. Obviously if we have someone unexpectedly sick, then the chaos is back.

Others have made some really good points, but as said this is a very personal decision.

I work full time and always have. In my profession, 4 days is considered FT. DH also works 4 days, which meant we could have DS in daycare 3 days a week, each have an alone day with him and the weekend together. He is in school now 5 days a week. This works for us because DH is a 50:50 partner. Does your husband do half of the childcare and housework? If you love your work, can DH cut back a little or change his schedule?

Hi K. -
It really is a personal decision based on a lot of individual factors, but here's my story and I how I ended up making my decision.
Until January of this year, I worked a "part time" schedule for two years. I had a flexible schedule and worked twice a week from home. My son had a full-time nanny who took great care of him and kept our house clean. Even so, I was very dissatisfied. Although officially part time, I really worked full time hours. I didn't work in a job with a set schedule, so it was really hard to "stop" when I hit my part time level. Also, given my work ethic, it was difficult to say no to extra projects, even though I knew it meant working beyond my part time hours. In the end, you may find that you are working full (or near full) time hours, with less pay and fewer benefits. That's not to say, however, that you shouldn't do it - it's just something to consider if you do decide to make the change, so that you don't fall into these traps.
In the end, I decided that I really wanted more time with my family, and was willing to give up my job to do so. Fortunately, I didn't have to go to that extreme - when I discussed it with my firm, they offered to let me work on a contract basis, where I take on work on a project-by-project basis, exclusively from home, and during the hours that work for me. Obviously, this set up won't work for everyone, but a lot more companies are providing flexibility these days for valuable employees.
And to answer your question about when I knew it was time to go part-time - in my case, I can't pinpoint any exact time or moment, but I was increasingly unhappy with the time that I didn't have with my family. I really wanted to be more hands-on taking care of my son and to have the energy to spend time with my husband. It took a year of back-and-forth in my mind to figure out what to do, but in the end, I am incredibly grateful that I took the plunge. I only wish I had done it sooner.
Best of luck to you -
S.

Hi K.,
After I had my son in March 03 I returned FT after my ML and FMLA leave & worked FT til about November. It was very clear to me that I was unhappy with play, dinner & bedtime. My parents were watching our little guy so I knew he was well taken care of, but, still.
I was 39 when I delivered my son and had worked FT for over 15 years. I knew. I didn't wait 39 years to have a baby to see him for about 1.5-2 hours per day. That felt wrong to me.
I talked to my boss and she was much happier to keep me PT than to lose me completely. I told her 3 days at work and 4 at home felt "more right" to me. I now work 2 days per week...more if I want to....
Hopefully your employer will be happy to keep you PT rather than lose what you offer the company! I have never regretted my decision. Listen to YOUR mommy gut, crunch the numbers & determine what's right for YOU! Good luck!

You have gotten great advice so far and I'm not sure I have much original to add. It sounds like you are coming to the conclusion that what you need is more TIME, period. Have you seen other people go this route at your workplace before? Do you think your boss will be supportive? Can you afford it? Is your husband on board? If the answer to all these is yes, I would set up a meeting and chat with your boss about it.
Personally, I would love to go PT and I realized that I need to seriously consider that when I realized that pretty much the only weeks I am really happy are the ones where I happen to do a short week b/c of a paid holiday and/or staying home sick with my child.
I am currently investigating it but I have a very inflexible workplace and there is not doubt I will be "mommy tracked" with my career completely stagnated and coworkers not taking me seriously if I go PT.
It sounds like you have more flexibility and I envy that. If I were you I would go for it!

Ditto tge other moms. I went back 'parttime' after baby 1. I was paying someone $10 an hour to take care od my vaby. I got home on time to feed her and put her to bed. After tge aecond xhild i qyit. I am happy i quit. Happy to be home.

Updated

Ditto tge other moms. I went back 'parttime' after baby 1. I was paying someone $10 an hour to take care od my vaby. I got home on time to feed her and put her to bed. After tge aecond xhild i qyit. I am happy i quit. Happy to be home.

The book Womenomics by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman discusses this specific issue and ways to approach cutting back hours at work and how to do it in a way that won't completely downsize your career.