To ask your job and hours?

[Banana0pancakes]

I'll go first.
I work for a communications company fixing your broadband when it breaks. I have to work 5 days out of 7, one weekend shift and 1 or 2 lates a week too.

I need a job that will let me choose my days each week after mat leave. DH works 4 on 4 off so each week he starts work one day later.

Anyone have a job that could accommodate that?

[songbirdsings]

I’m self employed so can pick to a certain extent. It’s a pretty niche area I work in, but I think it would work for lots of self employed occupations. Although deadlines and fitting meetings in around others means it’s not totally flexible

[sylbunny]

Engineering. I work 40 hour weeks flexible between 7 & 6pm Monday Friday.

[DazedandConcerned]

Pharmacy operations manager. Monday to Friday 9-5. No weekends.

I'm very lucky.

[ipodtherforipoor]

Occupational therapist for children with disabilities- 30hrs a week. I do 5 days with a mix of 1030 & 830 starts

[JamMakingWannaBe]

So you are looking for a job so you can work the opposite to your DH's days off?

There are plenty of people in my team who are PT or flexible working but their day(s) off or their come in late / leave early days / WFH hours don't change week-to-week.

I think you would need to find a VERY flexible employer/manager, or work for yourself.

What options has your DH suggested to fit round his work rota? Could you both move to a Mon-Fri 9-5 job? What are the plans for when baby starts school (assuming we have wrap-around childcare available again by then!)?

[Merryoldgoat]

Finance Manager - 0.7fte (28 hrs) - work across 4 days as I like as long as I’m available for meetings and committees. I’m reality I work a short Monday and Tue - Thur 8 hours

[ComtesseDeSpair]

I’m a senior civil servant with one of the more “professional” departments and Monday - Friday 9 - 5 are standard core hours but a) there’s a lot of flexibility in terms of home working and b) whilst those are core hours, in reality I and anyone at my level works in excess of that. I usually arrive at my desk at 8 and work until at least 6 or 7.

I can’t think of any job which would let you fix your working hours purely around the schedule of your DH, unless it was a similar role in a similar company which was used to working to a particular pattern. Why can’t he ask his employer to change his shifts to be more flexible around you? Why are you having to totally fit around him?

[Foxes157]

Support worker. 7 til 3 four days a week.. 4 weekend shifts a month. Mainly my job is chatting, encouraging service users with personal care, cleaning and meal prep and the occasional outing.

[Winter2020]

Are you able to use childcare? I think some nurseries can accommodate you needing different days if you can book a month in advance etc. Worth looking into?

I work nights in care. 10pm - 7am. Husband works days. We did have the help of FIL with the kids when my husbands work clashed with me needing to sleep but since Covid my work have been able to fit my shifts around my husbands work.

Other ideas are working for yourself or signing up to an agency or bank staff (office/care/cleaning/any specialist thing you do) and letting them know your availability.

Have you asked your own work if they can help? Do they have any staff on casual relief contracts where you could work when you can.

[Wewearpinkonwednesdays]

I'm a childminder. At the moment I work 5 days, 7.30am till 5.30pm (this changes sometimes) I make decent money, which makes it even more decent when you factor in no childcare costs for my own children, but obviously it's pretty unpredictable.

[Fatted]

What times does your DH work? I'd be looking at something working around the hours he is home, rather than the days he is if that makes sense. When DS2 was born, I worked evenings 5-10 and my hubby worked days 7-5. I used to drop DC off with family on my way to work.

Alternatively, just get childcare and find something Mon-Fri. IME, if one of you is working shifts/weekends (hubby works Saturdays) you need the other one on Mon-Fri 9-5 type hours.

[Megan2018]

I don’t know of any employed role that offers that flexibility. Self employed more likely.

I was 37hrs Mon-Fri 8.45-5/5.15 with occasional Saturdays before mat leave. I’m going back 30hrs 8.45-4.45 Tues-Fri (with a few Saturdays but fewer). Senior manager in HE.

[Governoress86]

I will be starting a new job on Mon, working as a admin assistant in a care home doing 9-3 Mon to Fri with one sat in 4 with a day off in the week.
I was in care but changes jobs so to fit around my DH and I can do school drop offs and pick ups.

[OntheWaves40]

I’m a teaching assistant so I do 8:15 to 4:30 mon-Friday term time. Which fits in well with DC but money is rubbish.
I would be very wary of switching jobs right now with so many being made redundant in the next few months, there is going to be so much uncertainty and competition for every job, I would look at childcare options instead.

[Chewsday]

Project Manager. 9-3 Monday to Friday. In reality lots of out of hours picking stuff up, some evening and weekends at crucial times.

[eatpraylovesleep]

I'm a Teacher. (In Ireland)
Contact hours 9.00-2.40 but 40mins are breaks so technically my week is 25 hours. I usually stay until 3.00/3.15 so theoretically I do an extra half an hour(ish) a day after contact hours.

So in theory I'm 25 hours week but I do about 28/29 between staying on after school and some prep on a Sunday evening.

[Foxes157]

I should say I'm the reverse to winter 2000 and DH works nights. We've never needed childcare but we don't do a lot as a family

[wheresmymojo]

What kind of income do you need to earn?

I'm self employed so work whenever I like really. Generally I do 11am-7pm Mon, Tues, Thurs.

I take Weds afternoons off and finish at 4pm on Friday.

Sometimes do a couple of hours over the weekend if I want to (but it's always because I want to, no one is waiting for me to do anything to a deadline).

I'm an online career coach specialising in helping women in professional/corporate roles figure out what their 'purpose' is and make a change to a more meaningful career.

[Ireolu]

Health care. 2 days a week. 16 hours.

[BackforGood]

Just to be clear, are you saying you are hoping to find a job that will let you pick what days you wrok, each week, and they will be different each week

as opposed to

pick what days you work and then stick with those days ?


Good luck with that.

[Geometricprince]

I consider my job to be super flexible, I work a nine day fortnight and am able to swap my day off to suit, but it's to suit both me and the job. If there's a meeting or a deadline I'll always swap to fit it in. We can also pretty much do whatever suits to get the job done but again it works both ways. I'm not sure what you could do to fit in with your partners working pattern, hope you do find something though :)

[Mopani]

Care work without a fixed contract would allow you flexibility. Working as a bank employee you can pick your own shifts from what is available.

[maddening]

I work in a bank min to Friday 9-5 but they are. V proactive in accomodating alt work patterns and also encourage a couple of days wfh. Per week even pre lockdown, they have a lot of tech jobs.

[SarahAndQuack]

I'm an academic. I'm contracted to work full time but I can choose when I do it. I must be in work for one hour each week.

There are jobs that have a lot of flexibility, so I don't know why people are so sceptical. The issue is that you might have to work very hard to get them.

[maddening]

Can't your dh ask to.fix his days? I think the moving your days.weekly is a bit much.