Laura Vanderkam posted a very interesting take on part-time work in USA Today this week. She points out that while a much-touted Pew study suggests a majority of mothers would prefer to work part-time, the numbers tell us that part-time work offers little more quality time with family but significantly less money and status in the workplace.
This is an important discussion for women to have honestly. Two-thirds of the part-time labor force is female, and a quarter of all working women are working less than full-time. In practice this means that women make less money, are less likely to have benefits, and have less opportunity for promotion. It might be worth the sacrifice if part-time workers were spending significantly more time with their kids, but Vanderkam cites the Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey indicating that women who work a part-time schedule spend just 41 minutes more a day with family.
For many women, thinking about part-time work conjures images of a white-collar job in a creative field, and afternoons spent picking up kids from school. I suspect the reality of most part-time workers is quite different. Most hourly or part-time jobs are not white collar professions, they are retail, administrative, construction, healthcare or childcare jobs. I would wager that many of the women holding these jobs would be happy to find a full-time position somewhere; they can’t because they don’t have the right skills or education.
But what really got me was this comment on Vanderkam’s article:
A woman, who has to work full-time, gets up at what time to wake her children, get them dressed, feed them, get herself dressed and fed, pack school lunches, etc.? She then needs to [work for] 9 hours…She comes home and changes hats and begins her mother/homemaker duties. She may have to grocery shop. She has to prepare dinner, do laundry, dishes, and find some time for her kids. When does she clean toilets and bathrooms, wash windows, scrub floors, vacuum, dust, clean the refrigerator and stove, mend clothes…? Where is her time to be who she is and not a money-making servent (sic)? Where does her end-of-day energy come from for intimacy? She’s a robot.
So here’s where I step in as a full-time working mother an explain why I’m not a “robot.” (I suppose I am a money-making servant — but isn’t that what everyone who has a job is?) My job is my time to be who I am. That’s the great thing about having meaningful, autonomous work. And it’s very hard to get there from part-time. In fact, I would argue that rather than having more “me time,” most part-time workers are locking themselves into less satisfying, lower paying jobs that offer little opportunity for personal expression or autonomous decision-making.
I should also say that because I work full-time, I make enough money to pay people to do the stuff that I don’t enjoy. Like grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry and mending clothes. I just don’t do it. Not everyone has that luxury — but women who work full-time have a fighting chance of focusing on their passions and farming out the rest. Those who work part-time are often stuck in jobs they hate and doing housework they hate. And many of them are not happy about it.
The Pew study seems to me to be a clear case of “grass is greener.” Women who do work full-time long for a less stressful life and assume it can be achieved by working fewer hours. I’m not convinced that stress is directly related to the number of hours in the office, though. In my mind it’s more likely the quality of your work environment and your support system. Life can be just as stressful, inflexible and demanding in a part-time job.
Related links:
- I find Laura Vanderkam’s blog about time use, My168Hours.com, consistently thoughtful and interesting.
- Jeanne Goudreau at Forbes writes about Mancession or Momcession?, pointing out that mothers have suffered during the recession in part because they have been forced to take less desirable part-time jobs.
- From The Mama Bee archives: The Truth About Part-time Work.
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Hm-m-m…definitely some interesting points here. As a former full-time working mom/money-making servant, I see your point of view clearly. And there are times when I miss having a housekeeper and/or assistant to manage some of the day-to-day drudgery like laundry and errands.
But missing that doesn’t mean I regret my choice to leave traditional employment (in 2003) in exchange for a part-time career, albeit working for myself. Nor does it mean that I’m stuck doing work that I hate – quite the contrary!
Though, I completely agree with your point, “In my mind it’s more likely the quality of your work environment and your support system.”
I struggled to find these things as a full-time corporate cog and after awhile the cushy 6-figure salary was a ransom for my sanity that I was no longer willing to pay. So I left and choose to start a business (part-time, though frankly when you work for yourself it’s really full-time!) that would enable me to earn money, stay connected to my professional self, enjoy my work/life and have my sanity.
And finally, you’re right about these surveys that attempt to create a pretty picture of life on the other side of the fence. More hours, fewer hours. More money, less money. It’s easy to find the stress or challenge in all life brings. But it’s just as easy to find the joy and pleasure in the unique choices each of us makes as working moms, so I choose the latter even if it comes with some laundry on the side.
I read the USA today story yesterday and this one. And I sort of feel this is a new mommy war happening. Neither story talked in depth about moms who were unhappy with what they had whether full or part-time. Or were unhappy with the money they were making.
Instead I felt the USA today story “told” us how to feel. And you know what? I’m good, I know how I feel about what I do, how much I make doing it and my life. I only wish all moms the same – whether they want part-time work, full-time work, to work equally as hard at home without a paycheck. Let’s celebrate what we have and not what others tell us we should have, must have, want.
I too read the piece yesterday and felt that it was thoughtful and useful. My comment there, and I think it’s relevant here, is that Laura’s calculations don’t stack up when you add in massive commutes, meal preparation, homework, family activities, one on one time for each child, church and other volunteer opportunities, grocery shopping, yard work etc. It’s not 72 or 93 hours left over at all. Nothing close to it.
Like Laura, you raise outsourcing as a viable solution. And make the important point that it does all boil down to finances and support systems. I would add that some of the most profound moments with my children (and the same goes for my husband) are when we work together – folding laundry, cleaning bathrooms, weeding. Life skills download and the space for conversation. Does it happen every day? Of course not. And certainly I outsource occasionally as the budget permits. But keeping a chunk in-house is becoming more important as my children get older.
The precious (and difficult – not sugar coating here) time with kids between 3pm and bedtime (or whatever it ends up being for others) is where the small moments happen, where I truly understand what’s going on and where the bulk of my opportunity to teach my children happens. And I’m not talking about their spelling.
The real issue here that Laura by-passes as she addresses the career track and earnings detours that part-time work creates, is the completely disproportionate responses to the relative drop in hours. That’s the real part-time red herring. And that needs to be fixed. Done well and fairly, part-time can be an amazing solution.
I work part time. I mom part time. I have loved doing that the last 3 years. For me, it’s worked beautifully. I have the flexibility to drop my kids off, go to work, pick my kids up, be the kind of mom I want to be and maintain my blog. I love my job. I love my kids. I love having time to devote to both. The money? Well, above and beyond childcare, it’s enough to pay for utilities, groceries and date nights. My husband is certainly the primary breadwinner. And that will continue to be the case next school year, when I go back to work full time. I am fortunate to have had the stars align for me both in my personal life and career-wise. But I cannot be the only one.
I agree, Leanne. Sounds like the mommy wars and why? For too many, it’s not a choice. They have to work full time and can’t afford to pay others to do what they’re not getting done or don’t want to do. Or maybe they’d prefer to a full time job but can’t get it – either it’s the economy, their skill set or their personal constraints, such as health. I only hope that those women who are lucky enough to have a choice realize their good fortune. Of course, choice is also about loss.
My mother said she never regretted going back to work full time in the early 1960′s. She did it for financial reasons but got so much more from it. It was a role model for my sister and I and we’ve chosen our own routes at different times in our lives.
I hope that my grown daughters and their mates are lucky enough to have choices when they have families.
God, I hope this doesn’t turn into a new mommy wars topic. I’m sick to death of the mommy wars and the underlying assumption that there must be one “right” way to do this, when in truth each family’s “right” way will be different.
I currently work full time. After each of my two maternity leaves, I had one month of true part time work- I worked three 8 hour days a week. After my first child was born, I worked for many months for 35 hours/week. In practice, I arranged things so that I had every other Friday off. I loved it. Sometimes, I kept my daughter home from day care and had more time with her. Sometimes, I sent her to day care and caught up on sleep and/or errands.
That would be my personal ideal, and I think I could make it work even if I needed to squeeze a full 80 hours into every two week period. Unfortunately, my current company does not offer such flexibility, so I work 5 days a week every week now.
I, too, consider my time at work to be a large part of my “me” time. My work is part of who I am, just like being a mom is part of who I am. My work time rejuvenates me for my home time, and vice versa. I have less time than I’d like to read, bake, and pursue my other hobbies, but I honestly think that would be the case no matter what I do as a mother. If I were working part time, I would not have child care for the time I was not at work, so I’d be taking care of the kids, not experiencing some wonderful “me” time.
I, too, make enough money to pay for some outsourcing, and that helps. I’m also a planner and problem-solver by nature, and so is my husband, so we have found systems that help us streamline the household work. My husband considers the chores as much his problem as mine, and that is a big deal. I’m very happy with my life.
So I guess my response to the comment you quoted would be: where is the husband? Why are all of those chores the sole responsibility of the working mom?
These are all important responses. But I think we need to recognize that the experience of someone running their own business is quite different than that of most part-timers, who work for companies. Launching your own business is difficult and demanding, but you have autonomy and (hopefully) upward mobility and compensation. It can be a wonderful option for people who have the will and the resources.
Part-time workers in corporate environments are typically undervalued, frequently overworked and often underpaid. Women who cut back to part-time in these environments face severe penalties in terms of benefits, compensation and promotion.
I worry that the focus on balancing work and life makes part-time work seem like a more attractive option than it truly is for most women. We tell women that part-time work will allow them to spend more time with their families and stay in the workforce. But the reality for women working in big business is that part-time work stops your career dead in its tracks, and rarely adds up to significantly more time with the kids. (That doesn’t mean that some individuals don’t succeed, but they are exceptions in exceptional occupations.)
Of course the answer is to rethink the workplace so that flexibility — same hours but better schedule — is an option. And of course, my mantra, childcare, healthcare, and paid leave. With better support systems women would be less likely to feel they needed to go part-time to make their lives better.
Re. mommy wars: Maybe. But we need to talk openly about the downside of part-time work and other worklife strategies, or we are likely to end up with another generation of large numbers of women at the bottom of companies, and almost none at the top. The feminist in me demands that we work with the system long enough to gain enough power to change it.
Looking forward to continuing the conversation!
TMB
I have worked part-time for many years as an adjunct instructor at a 4-year college. Mama Bee is right about the crummy pay and lack of benefits. However, I have a had a very autonomous and fulfilling job, combined with a lot of free time for parenting and for other interests. However, now that my children are a bit older, I’m getting a 2nd master’s degree in another field and plan to go back to full-time work in a year. I want the financial security and long-term benefits, as well as the personal fulfillment of a career.
I liked this post, especially your comment that “work is your time to get to be who you are.”
As to your point about part-time work and does it disempower women further, I think it really depends on the work. I know women who have small children and want to be with them, highly educated, and want a very flexible gig. I can think of several examples of women for whom this is happening. The rub is that because mothers want flexibility, employers they are willing to be paid less which has long-term implications for pay as well as for their self-esteem. But, in the short-term (I say short-term) it works for all involved.
Great discussion.
For me, working part time is the best of both worlds. I get to do what I love and also get to pick up my son from school two days a week, volunteer for lunch duty on Fridays and chaperone the occasional field trip. I am a consultant, so I am fortunate to have some flexibility as to when and how often I work. I couldn’t survive without my work – it’s like Prozac to me, but after having my son I was no longer up for the 60-70 hour weeks, the stress and the politics of my corporate job. So, to transition into a part-time consulting role I gave up something in income and authority, but what I get in return is well worth it. On a good day, I feel like I have it all. On a bad day, I feel guilty for leaving the office before everyone else, bad for not spending more time with my son, and we eat way too much takeout. I choose to have more good days. It’s such a difficult balance, figuring out what is best for you and your family. I have an amazing husband who is takes on his share “keeping house” and is great about arranging his schedule (when possible) to pick up our son or drop him off early when I have meetings. I realize that I am lucky — as a society we need to create better solutions for women who don’t have as many options. Thanks for posting this, Chrysula!
An “impaired sense of entitlement” (citing book, Women Don’t Ask) can keep moms from getting the terms they want, whereas skillful negotiation can play an important role in securing desired outcomes. I know of several women who negotiated 80% workweeks while retaining 85-100% of their pay (and got approval), thus cushioning some of the down sides of working part-time. Asking works.
It is a bit disturbing how many women readily admit that their job only pays the groceries and date night. I think women give up their economic power way too easily. If you allow your husband to earn all the money and your intellectual, non-child-raising space to be the “extra” you are setting yourself up for disappointment if you aspire to anything other than motherhood which most women do. You are also making yourself completely dependent on your husband, which is crazy. Women should work and are entitled to be fulfilled at work. Work is by definition something that is profitable — you make money at it.
If you only make enough to pay for childcare and no profit, it isn’t really work — and this is a problem, and the cost of childcare in this country and lack of extended family is the reason you get women on here “justifying” the fact that they “work” to pay the groceries. Total cop out. Get to (real) work. Make money. Feel what is real freedom. Don’t apologize. Have children. But make money. This is America and it is 2010, and it says a lot about our government and our society that we have educated women working to pay the groceries and date night only.
I read this post yesterday and thought about the discussion all night. This morning I woke up thinking about it again and had to weigh in.
First of all, thank you to Leanne, Chrysula, Cloud and MamaBee for the important points above. I agree that part-time work can have very severe adverse consequences that are disproportionate to the reduction in hours. But the truth is, an 8-hour work day quickly translates into 10 or 11 hours out of the house if you’re counting a long commute and child care drop-off. That can be untenable for many parents.
The two points I’d like to make are:
1) Control is key. If you can control your schedule, you can probably be happy working 20 or 60 hours a week as long as it’s your choice and it affords you enough money and time for your own needs and your family. That balance is going to be different for everyone. This is also a big factor in the puzzlement some hard-working business owners feel when their employed peers complain about work-life balance — if you’re calling the shots about when and where to work your 60 hours a week, it may not feel like a burden.
2) 41 minutes. Laura points out “only” a 41 minute difference in the amount of additional time that moms who work part-time spend with their children. Well, 41 minutes can mean a lot to a child and to a parent. It can be the difference between a rushed morning and an extra 5 minutes cuddling as they wake up. The difference between screaming at the kids to sit down and eat dinner, and giving them a leisurely transition from child care to the world at home. The difference between seeing your child alert and engaged at the end of the day and arriving home to a sleepy, non-interactive infant. That’s all the difference in the world.
I used to work 32 hours a week and I felt it was the ideal schedule. Indeed, the research and reporting I’ve done on part-time work found that when you work 80% time, often 4 days a week, you can usually accomplish just about as much as in your full-time hours. You also get left out of the loop less than if you are absent from the office two days a week.
Now that I’m working for myself, I regularly work 50, 60 hours a week. The fact that I control my own schedule makes all the difference in the world.
I agree (and disagree) with many of the points in this discussion, but the decision of whether or not to work–and how much and for what pay–is individual and complicated. I totally agree that most part-time jobs are dead ends for women, professionally and financially–I was lucky enough to have a colleague hire me as a freelancer to fill a former staff spot, which for me is the best of many worlds. (I do challenging work, control my 25-hour-a-week schedule (mostly), and make decent money.) But not everyone has the opportunity for such work.
And we haven’t even discussed the childcare conundrum. When I went freelance, I found that finding part-time, quality childcare in my area (Washington, D.C.) was essentially impossible, so we paid for full-time care even though we only needed it 2/3 to 3/4 of the time. Luckily, we could afford to take that hit for a few years in the interests of maintaining my future marketability and job skills should I want to go back to full-time work. But not everyone can do that.
Clearly, one answer could be flextime or part-time jobs with good, interesting work and responsibilities, but the vast majority of corporate America continues to cling to the idea that all their workers should and can be available for any and all projects, no matter what. That’s just not realistic in this day and age–for mothers, fathers, or anyone else who wants to have a job and a life.
I find it interesting that in the original article and in this entire thread, no mention has been made of fathers’ roles in all this. Certainly many mothers are tackling this on their own, but in many families there are two people with jobs yet our conversations center on how mother could/should/would adapt her employment.
In my personal experience, and for many women I talk to, my own employment options are in fact interdependent with my husband’s and vice versa.
And the comment on Vanderkam’s article with the mother killing herself with family work, why do we continue to allow ourselves to assume mother is or should be doing all the family work?
168 hours is not the right number to use in my household, we have 336. But in that 336 we have to fit 2 jobs and so far we’ve found that if those 2 jobs add up to more than 85-100 hours we all suffer. Yet the options are so limited – esp because as MamaBee points out, the penalties for part-time work are way out of proportion to the decreased hours. In fact I wrote an article called Part-Time Work: What’s so Lucky About It (at bottom of this page http://www.remodelingmotherhood.com/content/remodeling_tools/exclusivetools.asp) because I do think women tend to feel “lucky” to get part-time work when in fact they are getting a raw deal.
I would just hate to see this framed as the “mommy wars” have been – as this is mom’s problem, and you are on one side or the other. As opposed to, this is a systemic problem for families at all income levels about how to combine fulfulling, financially adequate employment with caregiving responsibilities.
Also just wanted to agree with Katherine’s points that a) control is key and b) 41 minutes can make a big difference
Kristin Maschka
http://www.remodelingmotherhood.com
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