About the author
Annika is an executive at one of Orange County’s largest companies. She is also the mompreneur behind BurpieBlocker® Baby Burp Cloths. She lives in Costa Mesa with her husband and son and is expecting her second child in December. Please note that the views of our guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of FlexWork Connection.
This is my dream…work 20-30 hours per week (contribute to the household, keep health insurance, continue professional development) AND enjoy spending time with my son (park time, play dates, swimming lessons, fun outings, quiet time).
This is my reality…work 40-50 hours per week (contribute to the household, keep health insurance, continue professional development) AND spend as much time as I can get with my son (an hour in the morning before school, an hour or two if I’m lucky at night, cram in as much as possible in each weekend, feel guilty leaving him for any “me” time or date nights).
Like many companies, my employer just went through “workforce reduction” with a massive reorganization to become a leaner, more efficient organization. While I was fortunate and retained my job, I must admit the mom in me wondered if this restructuring could present an opportunity to save the company money by working fewer hours and give me the flexibility I desperately crave.
I dreamed up a proposal for my leader…considered the pros and cons for the company and for my family…bounced some ideas around with my husband and close friends…asked other moms what they do and tried to learn from them. But after all that I never had the courage to talk with my leader about my plan.
In this climate I honestly didn’t feel like the company was interested in championing work/life balance as much as it once had claimed. I felt like the company wanted as much out of every headcount remaining and that there was little room to negotiate. I should feel lucky to have a job at all, shouldn’t I? (a job that I do really enjoy, by the way.) A job that I just wish I could do in half the time.
I do feel a little hopeless at times. If I ever do work up the courage to seek more flexibility in my career I know I will sacrifice not only the amount of take home pay but also I will become less promotable, lose influence within the organization and be perceived as less committed.
But maybe that’s OK if I get to teach my son to ride his tricycle, share a frozen yogurt on a warm day or create priceless works of art with him.
So for now I will maintain the status quo but I’m not giving up on my dream. I’m going to crack the code one day and find the balance I need.
I think most companies are short sighted by not offering MORE support for employees. The happier employees are the more productive and the longer they stay, which reduces staffing and HR costs, lost productivity, sick days and more. Focus on the bottom line isn’t always the best way to improve it!
Wow. You nailed it there. Why are we so afraid to ask for reduced hours? Worst that can happen is they say “no.” But I think a part of us thinks that if we ask, they say no, then they THINK we feel work isn’t a priority so we’re at risk with the next “reduction.” Ridiculous!!!