Part-time working parents?

[Nichole]

I can't be the only part-timer here! I sort of feel like I live with a foot in both this forum and the SAHM forum, but don't really fit into either. :dunno:

Anyone else want to be a floater with me? :lol:

[Kelly]

YES! I am so with you! I always feel like I don't know where I belong, even IRL. People ask me if I stay at home w/ Alex. Well, yea, 3 or 4 days a week. If I tell them I work part time, they act like I CAN'T get a full time job, and pity me. I work 2-8 hour days, a 4 hour day and one evening a week. I really like my schedule, and since I'm the one who makes the schedules for my employees, it's really easy to get days off when I need them. Glad I'm not the only one!

[gulp!]

:wavey: Hiya. :awink:

I know how you're feeling- it's so hard to exist partially in both worlds, isn't it? I find myself posting more in the working moms-related threads, b/c I guess I identify myself more as a working mom than a stay at home one.

While it seems ideal to be part time, in a way its harder b/c you can never really embrace either side of it.

[mommyLil]

I will be after this baby is born... I'm going down to 3 days a week but right now I'm full time.

[Lora]

Can I join? I have been working part-time (2 1/2 days a week) for the last 18 months. I love doing this because I still get to be a part of the work force while getting some more time with my boys. I don't think I have it in me to be a full-time SAHM. My only problem with this arrangement is that I sometimes feel disconnected with the rest of the people at work who are there full-time.

I was lucky in that my employer offered me the opportunity to job share the position that I worked full-time. It has worked out just great and my employer has been very happy with the results. I hope to continue doing this for a long time!

Lora

[Karly]

Hey count me in! I'm currently working part time (four days a week, five hours a night). I've been working for just over 2 months, after being off for about 18 months. I'm okay with my job because I know it's a means to an end of making a way out of our debt hole, but on the other hand, my dream is to be home with my kids full time. I think eventually, it will happen, too. :)

[Hilary]

I feel like I am, I am going to school full time and doing an internship, so I feel like I never see the girls. :blue: It's only for another month though, but I've felt really out of place about it lately.

[mama2jackson]

I sort-of fall into this category, although I work slightly more than I'm home. I work 4 days a week and am home 3 days a week. I get my SAHM day every Wednesday, which is a Godsend! I get to do all sorts of activities on Wednesdays with my mommy friends who do stay home. It's a really great balance for me. I think I would really love to do 3 days a week at work, but with my work load, I don't think I could handle it...so I will stay at 4 days right now!

[Karly]

Does anyone else ever feel guilty about working? I was off for such a nice long time that now I'm finding myself feeling bad about working some again. I especially feel bad when I rush the kids along in their activites so that I can make it to work on time. However, on the other hand, I know that in order to get our own place, I must work for a time to help finish paying the debt off. This is not a forever thing.

Sorry for the jumbled post. Just trying to get my thoughts out...

[Girlo]

:yippee: I'm a floater too! :supergrin

I got a transfer with my bank to a branch closer to home PT after I got back from my maternity leave. Before, I was working FT in an office in downtown Seattle....and gone about 12 hours a day, with the commute. :( I did this for a month before getting the transfer. :bawl: It was sheer hell. No other way to put it.
Being able to work PT (I do about 25 hrs/week....with variable hours and days off) has made all the difference in the stress level of all of us. :) I do lament about the severe cut in pay - I now make about 1/4 of what I used to - but the time at home is more than worth it. :) I love having the days off during the week to take Alex to playgroups, the children's museum, swimming, etc. and I love not having to wake up at 5am to get ready for work.

I also whine about the fact that I have a BS and I work as a bank teller for $10/hour. :blush: I have to remind myself that this is my choice and it's necessary for my family and I am darn lucky to be able to work PT and take home full benefits for my whole family. I feel bad about all the whining because I miss eating out more often....and I always thought I'd do more with my professional life than what the reality is now.

I would also love to stay home FT....but since I supply the benefits for my family, that option isn't going to happen unless DH scraps his business and goes to work for a company. Sigh.....

[Girlo]

Oh, as for feeling guilty about working.....not really. :) Alex was about 3.5 months old when I went back to work, so he's always know Mommy leaving for work sometimes. He stays home with his dad when I do work, so he's still with a parent in his own home. I'm sure it's all the same to him. :)

I just plain don't want to work (outside the home), so I feel bad for myself that I'm here instead of in my kitchen! :lol:

You know....it's funny. I'll work my fingers to the bone to the point of collapsing at the end of the day....and feel GREAT about it....when I'm home. At my paid job, though, I work to help the team along....but if I can get away with minimal effort...cool! :blush: I also eat less when I'm home and feel more productive in general. Go figure....

[Nichole]

Does anyone else ever feel guilty about working? I was off for such a nice long time that now I'm finding myself feeling bad about working some again. I especially feel bad when I rush the kids along in their activites so that I can make it to work on time. However, on the other hand, I know that in order to get our own place, I must work for a time to help finish paying the debt off. This is not a forever thing.

Sorry for the jumbled post. Just trying to get my thoughts out...

Truthfully, I don't. I was ready to go back to work after my last maternity leave. I need the break to be around adults and worry about just myself for a day or two and use my brain, otherwise I think I'd go insane. And I don't like how grouchy I get with the boys when I'm feeling that way. :(

I think I have the best of both worlds right now, and for as much as I gripe about my job sometimes I do feel very lucky to have the set up I do. I only have to work 20 hours a week and I still qualify for awesome benefits. Can't beat that. :)

[Nichole]

I don't think I have it in me to be a full-time SAHM. My only problem with this arrangement is that I sometimes feel disconnected with the rest of the people at work who are there full-time.



This is exactly me! :nod: I feel disconnected at work sometimes, too. I miss out on our team meetings and the work I do for my team keeps me isolated from them. I'm ok with it now, but at first it was an adjustment.

I'm so glad to see that there are others in the same situation here! :wavey:

[Carmen]

count me in! (Well, come September anyway!) Next year I will be doing a job share, so for half the year I will work two days a week, and the other half, I wil work three days a week.

I jumped at the chance, because it seems lke the best of both worlds. I will still be able to have lots of adult interaction (and keep my foot in the door with my employer in this tough job market!) AND my son will get tha chance to inetract with other adults and children at daycare. And of course, he and I will get to spend 2-3 days together alone, in addition to the weekends as a family.

I hadn't even thought about the fact that I might not feel like I fit into either group!

[Lora]

This is exactly me! :nod: I feel disconnected at work sometimes, too. I miss out on our team meetings and the work I do for my team keeps me isolated from them. I'm ok with it now, but at first it was an adjustment.



This describes my situation exactly. Sometimes I don't feel that I am part of the team because I miss so many of the meetings. I am slowly learning to deal with it because my boss still praises me for the work I do when I am in the office. I am actually more productive now that I am only there 20 hours a week!

Lora