Did I ever mention that I love working part-time? (And that I’m lucky enough to be able to do it?) Well, if I didn’t, I will say it again. And, in case you haven’t heard yet, today’s top working mom news story (that couldn’t possibly have taken anyone by surprise) is that the “majority of working moms would be happiest in part-time jobs.” Yes, I agree. I think I’m in the happiest position I could be in my current work schedule arrangement (my feelings about returning from vacation aside.)
I work part-time and my days off aren’t filled with the rat race of errands. As I commented on the Juggle blog today about this topic, I believe I am in this special and unique position for two (and I added a third and fourth here) reason:
1) I have a very understanding boss. She is supportive of my schedule, respects my days off and tries to include me as much as possible in fulfilling and substantial work while realizing my limitations.
2) Terrific child care. I have a great nanny who I can afford (just barely) to have for an extra few hours each week so I can run those errands on MY time, not my baby’s time. And not my husband’s time, because well, he just works to damn much for that to be a realistic option.
3) Great coworkers. If I didn’t have such a great team to work with, I’d never be able to pull off this part-time coup of mine. When I’m out, they pitch in. Ask me how they can help and fill in the slack that I leave. Who could ask for anything more? At the moment, I’m hard pressed to ask anything.
4) My husband has awesome benefits. My firm offers a terrific benefits package as well, but since I don’t qualify for benefits, I’m lucky that my spouse’s is just as competitive. If that weren’t the case, it’d be hard to justify the part-time gig as well.
Which leads me to my next thought: there are all these qualifiers to how a mom can make a part-time schedule work. It can’t just be “I want to work part-time.” Instead, the situation of trying to work part-time becomes like a shopping mission to Target: If you went there to get Dreft and a swimsuit cover-up (don’t tell me you’ve never done that) but all you could find at the store was Gain and a short, strapless terry cloth-thingy that doesn’t cover buptkis, your shopping cart isn’t filled and your mission wasn’t successful.
Same with making part-time work. If the four (and many more) factors don’t fit together perfectly, it’s hard to be successful working part-time.
I totally lucked out and I’m sad for my coworkers and friends who aren’t able to fill their cart with what they need. But Target restocks often, and I’m hopeful that one of these days, companies, managers, CEOs and the like will take stock of their employees (who, given more flexibilility and freedom are more likely to put in their discretionary effort), and will reshelve their benefits and flexible work options to fit even the largest of bodies.
Or else, those darn cover-ups will continue to stay on the shelves and linger on, until one day they’re put on sale and then discarded to the warehouse. And that doesn’t fit anyone’s best interests, does it?
Tags: part-time work, flexible work arrangements, Washington Post, The Juggle, working moms
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You really are lucky and I envy you slightly! I actually said to my son today as we pulled up outside day care (which he refers to as school) “come on, let’s go because I have to go to stinkin’ work!” To which he replied “don’t say that mommy, don’t say that word”, “but I want to be at home with you” I said. He looked at me and shook his head and said, “no mommy, you have to go to work and I have to go to school”. He is sweet! And you are blessed!
This is a really great post- wonderful analogy. And YES I’ve went to Target specifically for laundry detergent and a swimsuit cover up.
Steph
I say part-time is the only way I could stay sane! Three days a week is enough to get my sleep-deprived self and my 4-month-old out the door. On the other hand, I think I’d go crazy if I were home full-time. Also, I see it as a good way to stay in my field, rather than quitting altogether.
One thing I have realized, though, is that I have to adjust the way I view myself. I have always subscribed to the “every mother is a working mother” theory, and I believe that being a parent is hard no matter what your work arrangement. However, I recently realized that I was viewing myself as a bit of a slacker because I only worked outside the home part-time. Part of this is because I’m just hard on myself. But I also wonder if part of it is that I have been a little more affected than I care to admit by the narrow concept of work that is held by society. And yes, this says something about how undervalued mothers are in our society, and about the struggles of women as a whole, but all of that is too much to get into in this already-too-long blog comment.
I am feeling jealous of your sitch BUT so much more than that I am happy for you and that it exists at all. It is extremely cool that you give so much credit to the people in your workplace, but let me toot your horn for you, too: it would never work without their respect for your abilities and your commitment to the team. I have no idea where you work or who you work with, but I know this must be true for it to be working out. Yay for parent-friendly teams and workplaces!!!
I agree with Shannon in re: thinking I’m a bit of a slacker. When I burned out, it was while I was working part-time in a woman-dominated field… BUT, “since I’m only working part-time” that obviously meant I had lots of time for school and alumni volunteering and dental/medical appointments and oh by the way, downtime for myself. Didn’t work that way. I have the medical bills and copays to prove it.
Sara, to your list I would add #5: a college degree or at least some coursework. I couldn’t have gotten the job I had without one, and with one, you’re in a little bit more of a position to CHOOSE to workfulltime/workparttime/stayhome. I was completely freaked out by reading “Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenrich and never ever want to see my daughters in those situations.