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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

How much of a say do you allow your dh/dp to have over your work life? DH doesn't want me to work

291 replies

yoursayhissay · 18/04/2011 11:40

just interested in how much of a say you allow your dh/dp to have over your work life?

dh earns a good wage, he is also on a board as well as a ft job, so works more than an average ft job.
doesn't want to cut down on work or go part time.
he often worls late etc

and he thinks I should take his feelings into consideration when I decide what I want to do in the future, not that I should do exactley what he wants but i
I should take his feeling into consideration
and that he should have some say in things

what do you do?

OP posts:
frgr · 19/04/2011 00:22

We've learnt a very valuable lesson about the idea of labour separation from both sets of parents. I've also seen what happens in a significant number of relationships via friends and the Mumsnet Relationships forum (indeed, examples on this very thread) to know that in 90% of cases it ends up being an horrifically bad decision, usually mostly for the woman.

Parent set 1 (mine): Mum was a SAHM for 30 years, gave up her semi-professional job to have kids. Dad involved in workplace-related (but not direct) accident at age of 52, basically no income from him ever again. Overnight they went from being a financially secure married, traditional-setup couple to one where my mum had to re-enter the workforce in a minimum wage job which barely even covers the mortgage, on a home they thought they'd be in for life. I won't even begin to describe the amount of terror this situation has brought up for my mum, because she's looking at a retirement in poverty - no national insurance contributions to her name, no pension in her name. Despite being a very good mum (assessed by traditional criteria) and SAHP, this decision, to place the WHOLE financial security on my dad's wellbeing, has cost them both dearly.

Parent set 2 (DH's parents): Again, SAHM who has literally never worked (his brother was born 9 months after marriage at age 18). His dad in a professional job, owned his own company. His mum brought up DH and siblings well, but theirs was an even more traditional setup than my own parents - when his mum had to go into hospital for routine surgery for a week when the three kids were small, his dad was so out of touch with caring for them, that he had to offload them onto a complete stranger (female neighbour) because he didn't know how to look after his own children (despite taking the week off work and DH's mum packing the freezer with a week's meals, etc). DH's mum is basically unhappy but was totally unable to leave the relationship - as she (apparently) told DH, what would she ever do without DH's dad?

Those two cases alone have taught me that to tie my own financial future in with DH's health, wealth, and happiness is a bad idea.

Just as it would be to tie it in with mine. You basically count on ill health, accident, illness, relationship breakdown, redundancy, etc never happening to you.

And that's why no DH or DW should ever, ever be able to "control" what their partner does or does not do outside the home.

Consultation, negotiation, team work = good. Control = bad.

If the OP's DH wants his job and responsibilites taken into account when she takes a job, this is fine. But he also needs to offer the same amount of respect back.

And that means more than just incoming wages. It means sharing emergency childcare if someone is ill, taking the emotional responsbility for booking dental appointments - whatever. It's so much more than "what does their role contribute in terms of £s to the house.

If the DH "doesn't want to cut down on work or go part time" then what he wants needs to tie in with what has been decided for both of the adults in the household. There is more than 1 person's "wants" here, and neither party should have the imbalance of power in their favour to dictate to the other.

And that's the way no healthy, long lasting relationship should be.

frgr · 19/04/2011 00:25

... p.s. it saddens me that this sort of topic is still raised so often in 2011.

Did feministm really fail us all so badly where questions like the OP's are so common? Or should I stop reading the Relationships forum quite so often? Wink

EggyFucker · 19/04/2011 00:27

brilliant copy in this thread Hmm

scottishmummy · 19/04/2011 00:41

i work ft by choice was always a given.irrespective of what dp earns i want my own career and autonomy. so for us its never been a thing as it was always explicit i would work ft.and have done so.

you want my honest opinion,you'd be a mug to give up work on his say so.you play housey well his career goes stellar because he can travel,work late,not worry about kids because you will do it all

your thread is tiptoeing around his wishes his feelings
what do you want?

as a couple you discuss and negotiate,the best financial and emotional fit
be pragmatic do you need to work to pay for house etc- if so no further debate just got to do it
so if you dont need to financially but do want to work,then you need to have that discussion too
however,if you feel wee bit relieved and think well work wasn't so important to me then think about part time etc

is this 1st time its came up

SpeedyGonzalez · 19/04/2011 00:51

Sorry, only read OP's posts so far. Hey, it's late, I'm tired and I'm waiting for the DC to bloody settle to sleep. Grr.

Yoursay - he says you should take his feelings into consideration. Is he doing the same with yours? From what you've posted so far it sounds as though he thinks he should have the deciding vote.

HipHopOpotomus · 19/04/2011 04:33

I do what want/need to do!

Might be different if DP had high earning job and I didn't HAVE to work but then again I'm a stroppy mare so maybe not.

HipHopOpotomus · 19/04/2011 04:37

Never forget op your needs and desires are just as important as anyone elses

onceamai · 19/04/2011 07:51

I was going to answer this by saying I take no account at all of my dh's opinion in relation to my work. Actually though, looking back, when we married a lot of the equity was mine and that provided a cushion for the decision for me to give up work and be a SAHM, which I did for 8 years. During those 8 years, I did everything to support DH and the DC and completely ran the house - we were lucky - DH climbed the greasy pole. After 8 years I was bored rigid and got a little part-time job, starting at the bottom, and then went full time and got the opportunty to take professional qualifications. All of that was done in consultation with DH but I don't know what I would have done if he had said, no, I don't want you go full-time, I'm not having an au-pair.

At the end of the day I now work full time, in a managerial position, I still run the house, DH earns even more but works on the continent Monday to Friday and I think we will soon begin conversations about me reducing to part time from the autumn and I'm quite sure DH will support me. Part -time might work now because the DC will no longer agree to having an au-pair - part-time without help and when they were small was crucifyingly hard.

None of this was particularly intentional - it's how it all worked out - but I have never resented running the house and I hear so often on these threads arguments about who does what and Johnnie didn't hoover last weekend. That I think would have ruined our relationship entirely.

MollieO · 19/04/2011 07:59

I don't have a choice about working or not. However if I did doing evening bar work that means I wouldn't be spending time with my dh would probably be bottom of my list. Obviously if you have to work and can't afford childcare then that is a completely different position. Not one you're in though if I've understood your OP correctly.

Surely marriage is a partnership and you'd discuss decisions that affect the family.

trixymalixy · 19/04/2011 08:10

The ultimate decision about what I do is mine , however I would discuss it with DH and probably wouldn't do anything he was totally against.

I think he would prefer me not to work, but I need to work for my sanity. I couldn't be a SAHM. Also I have worked very hard to get my professional qualifications, which would be silly to give up and also I like having my own financial security.

I would prefer him to find another job, but he wants to stay where he is, which is fine fir the moment as he is not travelling. If they make him start travelling again, I will raise it again.

WhatOnEarthIsIt · 19/04/2011 08:35

My DH wants me to work but only if my hours wont affect him or his job. I can see his point, in that he earns the money which pays the mortgage and other bills, so he can't accomodate childcare into his working day without a big pay cut/losing his job altogether - but I do sometimes get fed up that I'm left with crappy jobs which don't pay very much just because I can only work around school hours.

Things are beginning to change now the children are getting older and I fully intend to 'hold my own' and will be expecting DH to support me in that. I don't currently have a pension, savings of my own, and I want to change that.

davidtennantsmistress · 19/04/2011 08:40

only read the OP but none, I work inbetween FT & PT hours, DP supports my choice to work, & has realized that I want to keep working for the company & independence. ref my degree again he's in full support of that and helps me study when he can do. We do discuss my thoughts/ideas etc on work but mostly I talk & he listens.

likewise I support his job fully even though he doesn't have any choices. - isn't that how it should be?

XH used to make it as hard as possible for me to work, hence my stance with DP.

AnnieLobePassoverSeder · 19/04/2011 08:49

As with anything in a relationship, it's about discussion, compromise and what's best for everyone.

I wouldn't for one minute consider asking my DH's permission to work; I would inititate a discussion with him about how we could best arrange things for me to work.

In fact, I wouldn't consider asking my DH's permission to do anything at all! If I want to do something that will impact on the family, I'll talk to him about it, get his opinion and we'll decide together what to do.

You do need to take into account whether it's possible for your DH to change his hours etc to help enable you to work. Is it simply that he doesn't want to, or that changes might jeopardising his job? Your decision needs to be influenced by how his career would be affected. Of course you shouldn't give up having a career at his expense, but all angles need to be considered to find what truly is best for everyone.

Similarly, I wouldn't feel remotely comfortable sitting at home drinking coffee with my friends while DH was working long hours to provide for us and wasn't happy being the sole provider. But, and here's the big but.... if he expected me to go back to work, I would expect him to make as many compromises as possible for that to happen; not just expect me to find a job that fitted in around his and still pick up all the childcare.

breathing · 19/04/2011 08:51

God, I wish my husband didnt want me to work. I hate working. I hate being the breadwinner. I hate never doing anything right - never fully succeeding in work/at home. Id give up in a flash.
Not helpful, I know.

berrieberrie · 19/04/2011 08:54

WhatOnEarthIsIt I'm sorry but that is bollocks that your partner would lose his job and not be able to pay the bills if he had to take responsibility for his child on occassion. To tell you that your work has to allow for him to have no responsibility whatso ever for the children he created s just awful. What will happen if he decides to leave you in 10 years time? or if he loses his job? or becomes ill? or dies? He is denying you yours and your children's safety.
A lot of women choose this for themeselves which is their own decision but for a husband to actually stipulate what hours you can and can't work is just ridiculous! Can he commit to supporting you financially for the rest of your life?
Employers have to allow their staff some time for family. If you shared it it would only be half each, obviously.

WhatOnEarthIsIt · 19/04/2011 09:13

No, he doesn't stipulate what hours I can work, not really. It's our financial situation that stipulates the hours I can work. He takes the responsibility for his children very seriously, paying the bills and making sure they are all clothed, fed and housed.

DH is self employed and often works long distances from home. If he was to take time off he wouldn't get the work, and he wouldn't earn the money which pays the bills.T here are hundreds of men and women in line ready to do the semi-skilled job that he does, so he's very disposable. I earn barely above minimum wage so if my DH worked less hours to cover childcare, my wages wouldn't cover his loss in income and we would not be able to pay our bills, which obviously doesn't make sense. I have worked evenings and nights in order to avoid this problem as I just couldn't earn enough to warrant paying for childcare.

Our children are getting older now and things are getting easier as we need less and less childcare. It has been very frustrating though because I have wanted to work and I have wanted to make a career for myself but until now it hasnt really been possible.

I'm about to start a new job which will barely make a difference to the coffers due to tax credits, so DH thinks I'm mad and can't understand why I want to do it. He has more sense than to try and tell me not to do it though. I think he's a bit worried that he'll have to pick up the slack at home but that's just tough. He'll live. On the whole he's very supportive and is happy for me to work as long as it doesn't prevent him from continuing to earn a wage and pay our bills.

LovelyDaffs · 19/04/2011 09:21

We talk about what I'm going to do quite a bit as our dc's are school age and I'm at the stage where a lot of people go back to work. Recently he has said that if it were purely his decision I'd stay at home, but he's behind me in whatever I want to do.

We did find it hard living on one salary in the early days and it wasn't viable me working as we have three dc's. If me working would have helped then I would have done so gladly. If however we can afford for me to stay at home and he insisted I work I'd feel miffed, but we are a team and I'd have to at the very least take his feelings into consideration.

berrieberrie · 19/04/2011 09:24

Fair nough WhatOnEarthIsIt I'm sorry. I have just seen sooooooooo many women end up in horrid minimum wage jobs in their 40s because it's all they can get having spent 10-15 years helping their husband build his career while they care for the children. I don't think there is anything that annoys me more.

Morloth · 19/04/2011 09:31

I don't know about taking his feelings into account.

However, DH works a lot, he also makes a lot of money. We can't have one without the other. In order to keep this job and therefore this income he would not be able to do the school run/take the time off needed for sick kids etc.

So something has to give. That something was my working, this wasn't a problem because I don't really care about having a career. I like to work to make money, right now we don't need the money but we do need full time child care - that's me.

When DS2 is at school and if we haven't decided to have DC3 then I will look at going back to work as the childcare will be much easier.

His job has been excellent for us, we have travelled the world, have plenty of money, a nice home, security etc.

If I really wanted to work then I would, I would sort out childcare and tell DH that he had to do more. Would he be happy about it? Probably not totally, but my happiness is pretty close to the top of his priorities so he would suck it up.

Marriage is all about give and take and compromising to find what works best for everyone, not just what works best for the husband.

Bonsoir · 19/04/2011 09:34

Agree with Morloth. Some parents jobs that are so time-consuming and also so financially rewarding that it makes no sense for the other parent to WOTH.

LovelyDaffs · 19/04/2011 09:46

Morloth and Bonsoir have it right. It's almost inevitable that if one of you is earning very well then they will be away from home a lot. We've talked about how it would be for the dc's if they have a father who they may not see at all during the week and a mother that they just see for an hour at the end of the day. We can afford for me to stay at home, I'm happy at home, so why make life harder.

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 19/04/2011 09:48
rubyrubyruby · 19/04/2011 09:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

violethill · 19/04/2011 10:21

Fabulous post from frgr.
Of course, as with any major decisions, there should be discussion with one's partner, and you do your best to reach decisions which work for everyone in the family. But thats not the same as one partner calling the shots. I am really shocked by the women on here who say their partner would prefer them not to work. What an archaic, patriarchal attitude, which has nothing to do with reasoned negotiation.
Berrieberrie also makes an excellent point about the long term.... Many women do end up in dull, minimum wage jobs for the last 20 years of their working life, because they have spent years feeling they 'ought' to be propping up their husbands job!

rubyrubyruby · 19/04/2011 10:27

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