at career coma

actually thinking about it, I am prevented from going for a higher level job as I couldn't get the same flexibility so yes, it has affected my carrer detrimentally

I went back full-time, but with slightly reduced hours, and took a corresponding pay cut. I do think my career is suffering, because I've got exactly the same workload as I had before, but I'm not able to stay late (as is traditional in my industry) in order to catch up, so I've occasionally missed a deadline. But it can't be helped, and TBH getting to spend more time with dd is more important to me than any sort of career progression (though it would be nice).

I do feel that I'm stuck where I am though - I don't think another company in my industry would let me work the hours I do. So in that sense my career is stalled.

I would say part-time work is more of a career coma than suicide. My employers are great. I work 3 days a week, often from home. But I will never be able to find another job 3 days a week with the levels of pay,interest and responsibility. In my book, that makes it a job not a career but for the time being, it will have to do. At least I have a job.

Agree with Soapbox

I went back to work FT after baby No 1 and 2 but was really unhappy/exhausted/stressed/resentful

After Baby 3 insisted on flexi-time and got it with support of Head of HR. DH also has amazing flexi hours which he negotiated which means we only have to pay for 1 day's child care a week

I work 2 short days from home, plus 3 days from ofice (two of those days until 7PM)

My long days I get home late, kids are in bed and I have a sandwich and crash

2 days a week I do school run

Fridays I am home by 4pm

I love it

Has it affected my career? NO - I am so much more motivated now that I am achieving loads of great stuff at work and have had two pay hikes in last year as a result of my performance - trouble is that I feel I could never find another employer who would also give me such flexibility plus pay me well

I am waiting patiently for the day that all employers are as good as mine and all women can choose their hours and thus perform at their best and still have a life with their family....[patient emotion]

I'm a teacher at a girls' school. They are really good about maternity leave and flexible working and also give generous maternity pay. I can't help feeling this is partly because the workforce is almost all female. However, being part-time since I had the kids, I am certainly lower-paid and have slowed down my path to promotion. Also, even though my school is, as an institution, very reasonable, there is a bit of a feeling that one is left out or slightly marginalised as a part-timer. It doesn't help that some part-timers try to get out of doing things that are inconvenientn for them but are technically required as part of their contract. I think this makes some people regard part-timers with suspicion.

me 2 - not back yet but not unduly worried about it -also a tax person in big firm and its quite a normal thing for woman at all levels to work flexibly in this environment

I am an accountant too. I think it is probably quite a good job for part-timers.

Katsh, I'm an accountant with a background in audit and then out in industry. My 'retraining' involved moving back into practice with a large accountancy firm, but in their tax department. My existing skills are complementary, but I had very little relevant technical knowledge. I love learning new stuff, even at my great age!

For me my manager has been great to a point.
He arranged for me to come back to a 'made-up' new role so that I could work in my home town rather than a commute, I got to keep the same grade pay (pro-rata) and stay on the management team with regard to bonus payments, meetings, training and development.

The down side is when I have had to have time off when the kids are ill or CM ill I have been asked - Are we asking too much of you? Is the job too much? - Part of me thinks how nice they care and part of me thinks is it because they see me as liability.
I work full time when needed to cover my Managers holiday, I have changed days if needed, worked evening telecalls etc but as I am the only one who has a family I don't think others realise what this involves for me to do this.

Overall though I just think working while the kids are small is hard - as it is non stop.

I have been unable to go back to my former role as it is impossible to do part time and virtually impossible to do as a job share. My company were very flexible in allowing me to reduce to 2 days a week but I have been moved from pillar to post with different short term roles and projects. I know that they have to find things for me to do and it was kind of complimentary that they didn't want to automatically put me in the back office standard part time role and wanted to keep me front office and use my 10 years of experience but it has meant I have had lots of days feeling that they were just finding me projects to fill my time. Even to the extent that they were giving me tasks and telling me that it would take a month when I knew that I could produce the work in a week or two. I think it became a bit of a problem for them to keep thinking up things for me to do.
I hate not having a designated role and have decided that when I return from this maternity leave (DC2) I will ask to go into the back office. This means that I will have a structure and will always feel useful but also means that my experience may well be lost. It will also mean a serious reduction in bonus.