There are full time jobs and full time jobs

[tigermoth]

Looking at the 'working mums - how do you find time' thread got me thinking: To all intent and purpose I work outside the home 'full time' as in I work a 35 hours 5 days a week.

But this is nothing like the number of full time hours some parents work. I know, I used to work far more hours and have a long commute on top.

Yet (and tell me if I am wrong) it seems to me that society often lumps all full time working parents in the same group, with the same sort of stress, childcare and time-juggling problems.

My routine is nothing like those who spend say 60 hours working outside the home and commuting. Timewise my 35 hours (plus 3.30 hours travelling a week) means I have more in common with someone who works part time for, say, 15 hours a week (plus modest travelling time).

Am I the only one who thinks the distinction between a long hours full time working week and a shorter one is often blurred too much?

[acnebride]

Completely true. Someone I know has two children and works part time. But she is an anaesthetist, so part time means 35 hours a week including lots of night work - she has two nannies!

I do 20 hours a week and have a total of 2 hours commuting, all on foot so there's no risk of delay. V unstressful compared with most.

[otto]

Good point. I think commuting time and flexibility of partner do make a real difference. My dp often works long hours and can only drop off, or pick up ds by if we arrange it in advance, so the juggling is usually all down to me. I also commute for almost four hours a day, every day. This will change when I move ds from nursery near to our old house to child minder close to our new house at the beginning of September, but I find it really tough at the moment to be honest. I'm trying to work at home one day a week which makes a huge difference as it gives me chance to catch up on some washing and chores during the time I would normally spend travelling. The plus side is that I do get chance to read books while commuting and can pop out to the shops at lunchtime without a child in tow.

[dejags]

I work a 40 hour week, start at 8 and finish at 4 but I only work 15 minutes from home.

So essentially I can drop DS1 at school (they start at 8am in South Africa) and be home for 4.15 to spend time with them.

Not ideal but it could be much, much worse.

[hercules]

When I worked 3 days I was working 35 hours sometimes more.

[lucy5]

I work 9- 3ish 5 days a week, with an hours commute each way. Dh often works 8-8 with an hours commute too. I drop dd off at my mums at 7.45 and school bus picks her up at 815, my mum now is working so wont be able to do that from sept and I am going to have to rely on my 15 year old brother. He goes to the same school as dd so its not so bad and hes a good kid. My bus arrives 5 mins after dd's bus on the return journey, so I cant meet her off the bus, now if my brother isnt there I dont know what i'm going to do. I want to reduce my hours but have only been allowed by school to drop 20% which hasnt helped me at all. I dont mind working but I hate running against the clock the whole time. I have had to forgo a lunch hour to try and get home earlier. If dh is going to continue working 8-8, i'm jacking my job in. I have been reluctant to do this as in this part of Spain jobs are hard to come by. Sorry i'm moaning on every thread today.

[katymac]

Very inteesting discussion - whee would I be I work 50 hrs a week from home (on duty - obv no travelling time but also do maybe 10 -15 hrs a week paperwork as well)

I have far less time than if I worked.....hmmmm i must think about that

[WideWebWitch]

When I'm working I usually do a 37.5 week (this is outside London - I never did such a short week when I worked in London, before children though) but the commute is usually an hour or more each way so that adds 2 hours/day and turns it into a 43 odd hour week. As you know tigermoth, I'm not even living at home atm so my situation is slightly different right now. But it's nothing like the 60 hour weeks some people I know do. Mind you, I don't know so many of those sort of people any more. You're right, there's full time and there's long hours and the 2 are often v different. I felt v guilty tonight when the woman on the checkout said I looked tired and had I had a long day. Turned out when I asked her that she wasn't finishing until 10pm tonight - I think she's got the rougher deal and told her so.

[WideWebWitch]

Sorry, a 47 hour week! Good lord, my maths isn't that terrible.

[CountessDracula]

I am out of the house 44 hours a week and I work part time! (4 days a week)

[Blackduck]

I work a 37.5 hour week, but add on the minimum 3 hours travel and I'm into 50+. Means its not uncommon to be out of the house for 12 hours ...really MUST do something about this...

[Prufrock]

So right. I couldn't go back to work part time, as my job/boss just wouldn't have been right for part-time, and full time, in my industry (at least if I wanted to continue to receive bonuses and promotion) would have meant 8-6 minimum, with extra work at home in the evenings and at weekends. Add on the hour+ each way drive and I really wouldn't ever have seen my kids. Dh still does it - he leaves at 6.30 every mornsing and gets back at 6.45 every evening, but does at least an hour, usually two, after the kids are in bed. The demands of some industries makes family life practically impossible - and that applies just as much to both the high paid exec who is expected to live for their company and teh crappily paid tesco shelf stacker who has to work ridiculously long hours to earn anything approaching a living wage.