To ask if you work full or part time and the reasons why?

[BabyNextYear25]

My sister received news today she would not be able to return to work full time as there isn't capacity. She was a little annoyed as her youngest will be in school and she's bored at home.
It got me thinking, the vast majority of my female friends and family work part time. It would be my dream to work part time but it's not feasible at the moment. Um curious to see how many women work part time, and what is there reason behind it? But also full time as well.
My reason is simple- I was single parent and I couldn't pay my mortgage on one wage.

Went Part time after having DC … reason for PTime was mainly health (I have a disability so FT was no longer doable combined with caring for a baby).

the benefit was having more time with DC and also reduced childcare costs but the downside is less household income and that’s something we’ve increasingly struggled with particularly recently.

frustratingly my job is not one that can be done remotely. If it was WFH even for just a couple days a week I could actually probably increase my hours now DC is older but hey ho (I can’t increase hours onsite as annoyingly by virtue of getting older I’m consequently more fatigued and this worsens my medical condition)

Full time. I’m single, no kids. I couldn’t really afford or justify going part time and I’m a teacher so dropping to part time would mean I’d have to share my class with someone else which I think can bring its own challenges.

I'm evidently a minority as I'm single with no kids and work part time by choice. I earn enough to get by (£33k) and just decided I didn't want to slave away for the next 25 years being desperate for retirement when there was a very lovely life here just passing by while I was at work. So I dropped down to 4 days a week, doing slightly longer hours on those days.

The first 2 years were nasty. It didn't help that at the same time my pensions contributions went up (not my choice!) so it was a double whammy. I felt constantly broke, but now I'm fine and used to it. I'm actually thinking about dropping another day, down to 3 days per week but that feels just too irresponsible and frivolous.

My days off are spent sometimes lying in bed till lunch, pottering round town, visiting friends who are retired or work from home, having lunch in cafes with my parents (they pay!) or sitting in my local pub reading a good book and drinking hot chocolate. Sometimes I'll clean the house, DIY or do a tip run.

Its quite funny because my Brother (household income of about £100k) is desperate to earn more money, so stressed he struggles to sleep, constantly spending money to keep up with Jones's, looks down his nose at poor people, having extensions and home improvements a plenty, and frets he "doesn't have any money". He's looking to earn more to keep up with his ever expanding outgoings, and I'm constantly trying to cut my outgoings so I don't need to earn as much. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I'd much rather be me.

Who do you need to justify working part time to? You only need your own permission!! The day I realised this was a wonderful wonderful day.

I really would encourage you to, if at all possible, make it financially viable. Best thing I ever did.

I chose to work part-time as I wanted to be at home when my three sons arrived home from school, for me it was more important than more money. We struggled but for me, it was worth it.

@FarmGirl78, not only do I think that sounds entirely reasonable, I know several people who’ve done it longterm. They are some of the most fulfilled people I know.

DCs are 11 and 6; I have always worked full time. When I had DC1 I had just got a job that paid £25k, my highest salary ever, and that was fulfilling and offered development opportunities unlike the entry level dead end jobs I'd had up to that point. There's no way I would have given that up. Plus, we couldn't afford for me to not work. I also suffered with PND with DC1 and didn’t enjoy mat leave.

We have no family help nearby so used a childminder when DCs were small and now use after school club for the youngest and holiday clubs where needed. DH or I is always available to take the youngest to school. I commute to London two days a week so DH does all the drop-offs etc. that day.

Weirdly now I am more senior and DCs are older I quite fancy working a four day week, to have a day to myself and to get things done in the house. But my job is full-on. I know that my predecessor in the role did compressed hours but with young children I don't think that's feasible a lot of the time, when you need to do school runs and clubs etc.

Condensed week, and have Friday's off.

I also wfh which to me is more important than ft/pt. School drop off/collection, sports days, forgetting [insert whatever 🙄] and needing to drop it off at school, being around for all these scenarios is priceless to me.

Part time to support my mental health. It really helps to have a few hours that belong to me between work and family where I can do what I like. Mostly I walk the dog, clean the house, food shop, sort washing etc but it represents a freedom which I don't have at work or at the weekends really as I run around after the kids and their interests etc. ideally I'll make this last as long as I can afford it

It got me thinking, the vast majority of my female friends and family work part time. It would be my dream to work part time but it's not feasible at the moment. Um curious to see how many women work part time, and what is there reason behind it? But also full time as well.

I'd get so bored if I only worked 2-3 days a week. Financially I probably could afford to tbh. But, I have enough time on the weekends to live my life I don't need more free days during the week and the extra money is a nice safety net.

If I could afford to (i.e. won the lotto) I might change jobs and perhaps open my own coffee shop and work there and then spend a few other days a week volunteering...but I'd ensure I still worked five days a week. I would never go part time.

I work full time because I need the money.

Part time. Nights. Minimum wage. Disabled child who doesn't sleep, rarely attends more than an hour a day at school and childcare not an option.

Agree. We are none of the things @AutumnColour89 mentioned, we have a mortgage larger than I'd like and I work part time. Because we'd be only a few hundred quid better off if I worked FT with the cost of childcare AND because we wanted that life for our child.

We qualify for zero benefits. Absolutely none. We still made that choice. We didn't buy our house until 2 years ago so haven't benefitted from reasonable prices in the market or low rates. We haven't been abroad in years. We don't go for nights out. We live in a house smaller than most because of the area and cost, but to also keep the costs down. We buy very little for ourselves. We do a LOT of free stuff. But we are happy. We do this for the life we have chosen. I would choose my days with my DD over a luxury holiday or a night out.

Full time +. It’s exhausting and sometimes I wonder about part time. Initially it was due to financial reasons and husbands poor health meaning I was the main earner. Now I just don’t know if I know how to change it, or whether I’d miss it now children are older.

Another full time for money reasons here. We need my FT wage so we can borrow a large enough income multiple to move to a bigger house. If it was for any other reason I'd do my best to be frugal so I could work 3 days to actually be with my kids whilst they are little. We'd planned to move around now as our mortgage fix expires at the end of the month but we've had to hold off because we'll be spending about 2k a month on nursery until September 25 which obviously hinders us a lot and isn't possible with the higher interest rates.

Part time but regularly do a couple of days overtime & also currently doing a uni course. Knackered.

Full time just back after 4 years SAHM both kids now in school. Full time is more money, I like my job as I feel like I'm helping people so it feels worthwhile. As both kids are in school full time seemed the obvious choice. We're better off by quite a lot each month now so can afford a cleaner, and I HATE cleaning, so it was worth going back full time just for that!

Part time as have 2 young children. Want to spend some time with them whilst they are little. Once youngest is at school I may look at upping hours.

Full time. 37.5 hours a week. Need the money to pay my mortgage.

I'm a single parent so no choice now. I was part time when DC was younger and I was renting so got help with housing benefit.

Part time - dh and I run our own business, my responsibilities ranges from a couple of hours a week to 60 hours a week - whatever is needed, mostly around 25 hours - suits me, I don’t want to work full time, there’s other things I’d prefer to be doing.

Full time because I love my job.

I think It depends what you do, I worked in a group home 30 years ago, with very few staff so there was no option to change my hours at that time, also we needed the money. My daughter is a hairdresser and went back to work in October, she now does 3 days a week and one Saturday a month, because her boss changed the way she is paid, she can earn the same in 3 days as she did full time. It means she is self employed now but her boss still works out her tax etc. Maybe something like that is a possibility.

Full time. Family breadwinner. Always wanted to work part time but wasn't a runner.

Part-time. Four days a week. Single, no children and own my home outright. I love my Wednesdays off.

Full time. Money and pension.