Do you have an easy job? How many hrs per week do you work?

[Dancing Fire]

DD#2 is working 32 hrs 4 days per week now, said she would prefer working 3 days 24 hrs per week so that she can spend more time with her baby son.

 

[Austina]

I can tell you from experience that taking the ‘easy’ option and ‘not working/having a job’ i.e. being a full time, stay at home Mum, is a lot more work than ‘working’!

 

[diamondringlover]

my job is pretty simple to me anyway...I have to bailout another area on a regular basis as they are always behind, that is not so simple...the older I get the harder it is for me to switch back and forth but I manage...I work monday-friday we have flex time but I choose to start at 5:00 am and work till 1:00 pm I do not take a lunch...I also work from home which is a hugh bonus

 

[Gussie]

SAHM since 2006 when my son was going through treatment for leukemia. I also had 2 more kiddos during that time and after his treatment was done (cured and a healthy teen now!), it didn't make a lot of sense to go back to work. It's not for everyone. There are days that I feel restless and bored, and some days that are too busy to breathe. It took me a while to see it as an opportunity to stay at home with my kids rather than a sacrifice of my career. Life is good if you try to enjoy the ride your on, not the one you think your supposed to be on!

 

[missy]

DD#2 is working 32 hrs 4 days per week now, said she would prefer working 3 days 24 hrs per week so that she can spend more time with her baby son.

My girlfriend told me that going to work was way easier than staying at home taking care of the kids. She worked part time out of the home and was a full time mother. The hardest job in the world is raising one's kids. No question about it. It is also the most rewarding "job" one can ever have.

My mom was a full time mom and only went to work after my younger sister graduated high school and went away to College. She said that yes sometimes it was hard not having adult interaction but there were more opportunities in those days to spend time with other stay at home moms because these days more families need both parents working full time to make ends meet.

Life is challenging and there is no one "right" way to do it. Each family must decide what makes the most sense for them.

 

[dk168]

Currently without a job, and I am hoping to start working from home soon.

I worked out I should be earning a similar salary as my last full time employment of 37.5h week with my previous employer if I work about 15h a week at the top hourly rate as a contractor, based on a 46-week year.

DK

 

[YadaYadaYada]

SAHM for 12 years as of next month and I have a shop on Etsy I opened last year. By far starting and running the shop has been more challenging than any of my 12 years with the kids. I have no idea how many hours I put in certain days last year but it was probably more than when I worked full time.

In both cases though I'm very lucky, I wanted to and got to stay home with both of my kids until they went to school (youngest is going to K this Sept) and I got to open a shop and do something I really love. Very fortunate.

 

[Ally T]

I was a SAHM for 7 years until my youngest daughter started school. Having 2 children 19 months apart was by far the hardest job I have ever had! I now work at their school & I do 10 hours a week, term time only. It’s perfect because to me, the children ARE my job & need to come first. Having a husband who is often away means I am it for everything - school run, dance classes, swimming lessons, school holidays etc. So I do 2 hours per day overseeing Safeguarding & First Aid, before, during & after the lunch break. This gives the teaching staff responsible for those things a little breather, as whilst I am on site I can deal with everything.

 

[jordyonbass]

I'm a bit all over the place as far as work goes; for my day job as a land surveyor I get sent individual jobs, so whether it takes me 5 hours or 15 hours I just do whatever it takes to get all my jobs completed (Monday was a 14 hour day with nearly 500 miles of driving and a motel stay in the middle of nowhere). Then I fill all my spare time with operating my Opal home business.
If I had to make a guess, I probably work 60 hours per week.

My lines of work aren't incredibly difficult, they do have their moments where I have to reach deep into my sleeve of tricks but I've never had to drop work because I wasn't competent enough to do it.

 

[bludiva]

i negotiated a 32 hour/week schedule a few years ago and let me tell you i was equally productive as when i worked 40+. there's a lot of "fluff" in many office job schedules and if we reduced meeting times / face time / etc a lot of people could get the same work done and have a 3 day weekend.

And everyone should have a 3 day weekend, it's the best!

 

[ringbling17]

I’m a nurse and started working weekends about a year ago. They call it WIP. I work three weekends in a row and then I’m off every fourth weekend. I do get paid more for it, a little more than time and a half. I work 12 hour shifts both days from 11am to 11 pm.
I do miss out on social activities like parties, etc. but I also love that I get almost two weeks off every month and I’m home during the week for my kids. My husband also works part time two days a week.
It works for us so we don’t need a babysitter to watch our kids.

 

[eh613c]

I was a SAHM for 5 years and it was tough! I’ve been working now for the past 4 years and I feel like I’m busier at home during the weekends than when I’m at work M-F. The most satisfying work is definitely at home.

 

[ringbling17]

Oh! And to answer the question do I have an easy job? I was a NICU nurse for 17 years. It wasn’t an easy job but even though my job was stressful and sad at times, it was also the most rewarding, challenging and satisfying job for me.
When I applied for the WIP position which is in a completely different field of nursing, I was scared I wouldn’t like it and I wouldn’t be good at it. It turns out I was wrong and I absolutely love my new job.
I do find it easier than working in the NICU too. There isn’t as much stress.

 

[Calliecake]

I can tell you from experience that taking the ‘easy’ option and ‘not working/having a job’ i.e. being a full time, stay at home Mum, is a lot more work than ‘working’!

TRUTH!!!! I know this to be 100% true and I’m not even a mom.

 

[Arcadian]

70 hours a week most weeks. so no, not easy.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I can tell you from experience that taking the ‘easy’ option and ‘not working/having a job’ i.e. being a full time, stay at home Mum, is a lot more work than ‘working’!

I have been both a SAHM and working mom. The issue is working moms still have to cook, clean, help with homework, take kids to activities, etc. Most of my parenting has been as a single mom so buck stops here.

I have a very emotionally demanding job and work over 40 hours a week. Technically I have three part-time jobs (by choice). I love my job but some days I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for days.

 

[cmd2014]

I have a challenging job and work 60 hours per week (plus or minus depending on the week). I can see wanting to have some balance between parenting and paid employment though, and if your daughter can afford to do it (both in the short term and in regard to the long term implications on her career), then why not?

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

Also a nurse, work in outpatient day surgery. Usually only work 3 days a week . Some days are long, some breeze by. Some days are stressful, some are not. Often depends on what surgeon I'm working with! But my days off are always full of errands and appointments. Since I work less than my husband, I do more of the things that keep my family ship afloat: shopping, bill paying, etc.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Also a nurse, work in outpatient day surgery. Usually only work 3 days a week . Some days are long, some breeze by. Some days are stressful, some are not. Often depends on what surgeon I'm working with! But my days off are always full of errands and appointments. Since I work less than my husband, I do more of the things that keep my family ship afloat: shopping, bill paying, etc.

DD is waiting for an opening position of working 3 days per week.

 

[marcy]

Currently work about 45 hours a week. Used to work 2 jobs for about 80 hours a week. Now that I have one job I don’t know how I worked that many hours for 21 years.

 

[nala]

I’m a teacher. It’s an easy job Bc I love my kids! My school day starts at 8 and is over at 2:45. I typically go in at 7:30 and leave by 4 pm. That includes a 45 min lunch. 55 min prep period and because I am very efficient and refuse to bring work home, I utilize that time to the maximum. I work hard but it’s fun! Not a day goes by that my kids don’t make me laugh, inspire me or leave me in awe! Very rewarding.

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

@Dancing Fire -- I worked a similiar schedule when my boys were tots. Was stay at home until they were 2 and 3, then decided to go to nursing school. (That was a challenge! ) Worked P/T when they were younger meant I could pick them up from school, attend class parties.

 

[GliderPoss]

In theory I only work a 40 hour week but I'd say with overtime it's closer to 45 or even 50 on really busy weeks! It's not an easy job (conveyancing) but mostly due to sheer volume of work, rather than difficulty level.

 

[LLJsmom]

Until I was in my early 40s, I was working about 60 hours a week on average over a year since I was 21. My hours have dropped to 40-50/week. So no, not easy. Actually there was a couple of years during my late 20s where I was working 40 hours a week at an easy job and I couldn’t stand it so I found a more challenging job.

 

[Queenie60]

I went back to work after 24 years of staying at home. 2 years ago I took on a part-time job as a business manager for a Realtor. Love my job - it's a challenge and challenges my brain daily. Love it!

 

[paperunicorn]

I don't really keep track of how many hours I work, as I work for myself as a freelance illustrator and also have a vintage clothing business. It's definitely not easy, though! I am recovering from some health issues and very bad burnout from overworking myself in 2016...I did 175 paintings in a year, which is frankly sheer madness. When I was in college, I worked 32 hours a week plus a full courseload - at an art school, where we were given homework every week in every class - and I don't know how I did it. Ah, the folly of youth

 

[LJsapphire]

I’m a teacher. It’s an easy job Bc I love my kids! My school day starts at 8 and is over at 2:45. I typically go in at 7:30 and leave by 4 pm. That includes a 45 min lunch. 55 min prep period and because I am very efficient and refuse to bring work home, I utilize that time to the maximum. I work hard but it’s fun! Not a day goes by that my kids don’t make me laugh, inspire me or leave me in awe! Very rewarding.

I'm also a teacher (secondary/high school) - I work from 8:30-4pm at school (longer on Wednesdays because I run an after school club) and then typically another 2 hours a day at home plus weekend. So I do about 50-60 hours. I think workload is an issue for many/most teachers in the UK.
I do have a very helpful fiancé (stay-at-home-stepdad) so I am a working mum but I don't need to do all of the housework on top of that

 

[Tekate]

stayed home 12 years, worked part/time 36 hrs one year, went back to work when my younger son was in 6th grade for 20 hours per week, when he was in high school I started full time for 12 years then retired.

My DIL works 32 hours per week as a pharmacy assistant, she is due in April with a beautiful, perfect, wonderful, MINE, daughter and she has to work so she will have to go back at 3 mos and my son wants me to stay with the baby the next 3 months because he's vERY cONCERNED about people who don't vaccinate their kids will infect his baby girl.. I will not be staying 3 months to take of the baby, but it's a tough call to get that thru to my son I'll help him pay for a private sitter for 3 months if he wants because I DO understand his feelings.. you send your kid to daycare and they get whooping cough.. it's terrible..

I know that was TMI but I felt like ranting