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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

DH insisting I change my working hours

650 replies

OneTipsyRubyDreamer · 20/01/2026 21:16

We have 3 DC. DH works full time 5 days a week. I work part time 2 days a week school
hours. DH has wanted me to move from part time to full time for years but now he’s suddenly started saying he “insists” that I need to ask my employer if I can go full time. I don’t want to go full time though. DH won’t stop going on about it and says he wants proof that I’ve asked my employer if I can go full time. I haven’t asked my employer about going full time because I don’t want to go full time but DH won’t take no for an answer though and he is putting a lot of pressure on me over it. He says things like “a lot of parents work full time so there’s no reason you can’t” but I don’t want to work full time! He can’t seem to understand the fact that I just don’t want to work full time and that I want to keep my current working hours for 2 days a week. AIBU?

OP posts:
44PumpLane · 21/01/2026 08:15

I do think you are being unreasonable to unilaterally just decide you don't want to work more than 2 short days a week in terms time, but given the additional info that your husband is absolutely unwilling to have any meaningful discussion with you about why he would like you to increase your hours I actually think that puts quite a different spin on it.

If he wanted to be an adult and discuss it and you were just saying "no" that's one thing, but as he's not being a grown up about it I get why you also feel you don't have to.

To get him off your back do you have a good relationship with your manager? Could you tell them you don't actually want to work more (giving xyz reason) but see if they will let you send an email request asking to up your hours and have your manager reply a few days later saying that it's unfortunately not possible at the moment due to a hiring freeze or something- I would do that for one of my staff without issue.

rockinrobins · 21/01/2026 08:16

You have 3 children with SEN. Having one parent or the other at home as much as possible is obviously going to be beneficial for them, especially whilst they are small.

In the UK about 50% of families have both parents working full time, so its not "most" as your husband claims.

A lot of those families will be doing it because it's essential financially, which it sounds like it isn't for you.

I think your husband is being unreasonable. In your situation I would offer to work more if he wants to work less and stay at home with the kids. But I would point out that the children need their parents.

TruffIes · 21/01/2026 08:16

Raindancer411 · 20/01/2026 21:22

It’s probably this

I bet she does all the housework plus cooking plus mental load of the children require too. So, she does have a full time job!

socks1107 · 21/01/2026 08:16

Maybe he also doesn’t want to work full time? Maybe he doesn’t now want to be the main wage earner?
the age of your kids is relevant here tbh. I went back full time when my youngest started high school because it wasn’t all on my dh to fund me.

justasking111 · 21/01/2026 08:17

SunnyViper · 21/01/2026 08:12

My 16yr old works more than that in his weekend job😂.

So did my DCs, they managed GCSE, a level, degrees and masters too. I hadn't thought of it like that before.

rockinrobins · 21/01/2026 08:18

socks1107 · 21/01/2026 08:16

Maybe he also doesn’t want to work full time? Maybe he doesn’t now want to be the main wage earner?
the age of your kids is relevant here tbh. I went back full time when my youngest started high school because it wasn’t all on my dh to fund me.

Have you read OP's posts?

It doesn't sound like he has offered to cut his hours or places any value on having a parent at home.

It sounds like he wants them both to be full time and doesn't really recognise being at home with the children as having any value.

OP has said the age of the kids. The youngest is 18 months.

UninitendedShark · 21/01/2026 08:20

Just a thought, but could he be gearing up to divorce you so wants you less reliant on his wages to fund child maintenance/ housing?

I’m not saying there shouldn’t be a move towards you picking up more work in the near future. A compromise on 4 days pw and term time only seems ideal but agree he needs to be way more involved in housework and taking time off for kid sickness etc.

Cornishclio · 21/01/2026 08:22

A decision as to how many hours parents with young children needs to be a joint decision taking all family commitments into account. He does not unilaterally get to say you need to go to full time work just because others do and you should not unilaterally get to say you want to work part time because you don't want to return to full time work. Neither of those are good reasons.

My suggestion is to say to him that the children are still young, you have some with SEN and you do the majority of looking after the house, the family and life admin. If he does very little other than work how does he suggest all those things are going to be covered? Is he going to pick up the 18 month old from nursery and do drop offs? Is he going to sort out half the childcare when you are both at home in evenings and weekends? Who will do food shop, sort out SEN appointments? How will it affect your SEN child? Will he be going shopping for birthday/christmas presents and doing his share of housework/laundry etc etc? What about school holidays and before and after school and if they are ill? He will need to do his share of that.

Equally you should talk to him about the financials and see what is driving this? Is he under pressure financially? Your children are quite young but 10 hours is not very much in terms of work commitments. Can you compromise and go up to three days a week? You could work out the maths and say that you would get so much extra by upping your hours until the youngest is at least in school but presumably that means you may have to pay tax. He may have a hidden agenda or resent supporting you financially but you have had three children together and caring for them is either split 50/50 or you work part time.

justasking111 · 21/01/2026 08:24

I stayed at home six years until the youngest was at school full time. Then I worked 30 hours a week. 9-3 pm. But I was bored, lonely and broke.

Friends and family who added a third child are always pretty well stuffed in my experience. One friend said I might as well have four the dynamics have changed so much.

Unorganisedchaos2 · 21/01/2026 08:26

I'm assuming you do most of the childcare and household stuff, has he said how he expects it to be broken down if you go full time? If not will you be paying for wrap around care, a cleaner etc?

Also Id put money on him having money issues though, do you have joint finances?

WelshRabBite · 21/01/2026 08:28

Make a spreadsheet, put finances on one sheet, household chores on another and childcare on the third.

On the financials sheet put all your incoming and outgoings as they currently are and then what money you’re left with at the end of the month to spend as you wish.
Then add a column of the additional incomings and outgoings you would have if you were working FT. Bigger wages, more money to put into pension, plus more childcare costs (especially for school holidays) and see the cost-benefits there.

Then list all the household chores you currently do and what your DH does on the second sheet. Add to that the revised list of what you would both have to do if you were both working FT (I.e. split the list in half and increase his household chores list so he would be doing equal to you).

Then on the childcare sheet work out how you would cover school holidays, sickness, doctors appointments, etc using your annual leave. You might want to assign a fortnight for a family holiday and some joint days off for Xmas/birthdays etc and then split each of your annual leave so you each have a week or more (depending on how many days annual leave you get) to watch the kids by yourself. Then what childcare needs you’d have to cover the rest.

Then, any time your DH brings up working FT say “great, I’ve been looking at that and want to discuss how it’s going to work, let’s sit down and have a look at the spreadsheet I’ve built.”

If he says no, email him the spreadsheet and say, “once you’ve looked at the spreadsheet and confirmed which weeks you’ll be covering childcare, which household chores you’ll be responsible for etc we can potentially move forward with this.”

He needs to trial doing more housework, cooking, cleaning and washing on top of his FT working week to see how he copes with spending what he currently has as free time (as you manage the bulk of housework) cleaning the bathroom etc. Does he do it? If not then you can say “how can I go back to work FT if you can’t even clean the bathroom after work? Your expectation seems to be that I will work FT outside the home AND in the home. If I go back to work FT then EVERY task inside the home will be split 50/50, so step up.”

The next day one of your DC are ill and need to be picked up on one of your work days, make him do it. He needs to realise you won’t be the default parent when you’re both working FT and that will affect his working day and potentially his career prospects (depending what line of work he’s in).

Whilst I don’t believe that a parent has autonomy to decide they’re just going to work PT if the other parent doesn’t agree, the FT parent needs to be fully committed to doing their fair share of childcare, housework and other tasks that the default parent usually covers if you’re otherwise going to be working FT.

MrsPicklesToBe · 21/01/2026 08:31

Could he have any debts you don’t know about ?

BrendaThePoodle · 21/01/2026 08:32

SunnyViper · 21/01/2026 08:12

My 16yr old works more than that in his weekend job😂.

Does your son do all the housework and have DC with additional needs?

Purplecatshopaholic · 21/01/2026 08:33

Sounds like he is feeling the pressure of being the main breadwinner. You need a compromise op. He wants full time, you want two days. Doesn’t sound like there’s any reason you couldn’t do, eg 3 days, apart from the fact you ‘don’t want to’. The two of you are meant to be a team, start acting like one and talk properly together about this as a first step.

Fundays12 · 21/01/2026 08:39

Has your husband thought through the childcare logistics and costs of you going full time? How much extra per year will actually cost? We worked it out and are were worse off financially (also 3 kids). Who is going to do the extra drop offs, pick ups, take unpaid leave when the kids are sick, have appointments etc? Who is doing things like house cleaning, food shopping etc because I am guessing you do all that in your days "off". I dont know any mums of 3 i know that work full time because its not realistic unless they are much older. I suspect your husband is totally under estimating how much you do that he doesn't see so I suggest keep a diary for a week then sit him down and mark off everything that will be his job going forward if you go back full time. Also work out the extra childcare costs and factor in things like unpaid days for sickness etc. My husband once suggested I go back full time when our youngst dc was 2. He got quite a shock when I pointed out we would be spending £11k a year in childcare and that didn't include care for dc1 who is disabled in the holidays because its non existent in our area. I also told him the list of chores he would be doing extra and pointed out we would need a second car for me to get to work etc. I think we were in minus by then on my calculations. I work 2 to 3 days a week and my earnings pay for holidays etc.

redskydelight · 21/01/2026 08:40

ThatCyanCat · 21/01/2026 07:48

What interests you about them?

As at least one PP realised what I was thinking, I'm sure you can too.

LadyDanburysHat · 21/01/2026 08:48

I think every time he mentions it you need to say you are not going to respond until he agrees to sit down and discuss it properly. Walk away from him if you have to. He is being ridiculous. He wants you to bring more money in, but his reticence to discuss it means he does not expect his life to change at all. And that you will work full time and do everything else you already do.

ThatCyanCat · 21/01/2026 08:49

redskydelight · 21/01/2026 08:40

As at least one PP realised what I was thinking, I'm sure you can too.

No, I can't. However, now I'm also wondering why you don't want to say whatever it is plainly.

Imbusytodaysorry · 21/01/2026 08:50

Agapornis · 20/01/2026 23:37

You are working full-time, you're just not getting paid for it. Write the job description and person specification for everything you do at home that he doesn't, and get him to pay you 😎 Childcare, running the house, dentist, GP, birthdays, clothes etc.

This !
Certainly NOT lazy

saraclara · 21/01/2026 08:50

Motheranddaughter · 20/01/2026 22:45

At one point DH and I shared an Office and if he answered the phone to the school they would ask to speak to me !!

But were you the first person on the list? And would they know that the male who answered the office phone was the child's father?

Likewise the previous poster saying that the fathers (not on the emergency contact list) were surprised to be called... well they would be, because they're not on the list, and presumably for a reason!

As a teacher I found that most parents initially showed irritation at being called, whatever their sex. Because, perfectly naturally, if they were working, they'd be panicking about the ramifications of asking to leave. I didn't blame them (unless they blamed me!). If I got a call from their school when my kids were younger, I suspect I reacted the same way, initially, because leaving my class was no easy matter!

travelallthetime · 21/01/2026 08:51

OneTipsyRubyDreamer · 20/01/2026 21:21

I don’t want to work more days though.

if this is your stock answer to him that i cant blame him for being pissed off.

Skybluepinky · 21/01/2026 08:52

Can only assume that it’s not financially viable to you remaining part time, how would you feel if he said I only want to work 2 days a week, we all have to do things we don’t want to.

AllIdoistidyup · 21/01/2026 08:52

ThatCyanCat · 21/01/2026 08:49

No, I can't. However, now I'm also wondering why you don't want to say whatever it is plainly.

Every time one reaches school age she has another one maybe? I don't know why people are being cagey if so.

CalliopeFosterBeauchamp · 21/01/2026 08:54

HomeTheatreSystem · 21/01/2026 00:17

I don't think you're going to get very far just saying that you don't want to work FT.

Tell him that until he engages in a conversation with you about how the domestic chores and childcare would be managed and shared between you, then there is no point talking about you working FT because one thing that is NOT happening is you working FT and doing 90% of all the house and childcare related stuff. Draw up a list of everything that needs doing and work through it with him. Look at the financials too to see how much net you'd be better off by: ie if he persistently avoids doing chores round the house, what would it cost to get a cleaner in etc You may not want to do more days just like he appears not to want to assume his share of the stuff you do at home but until he sees what his plan would look like on a daily basis, he's going to be like a broken record.

This.

But you say he’s mentioning it “every day”? This sounds like he’s desperate for you to work full time - which makes me think it is financial.

How sure are you that his job is secure? That he still has savings? That he’s not in debt? That he absolutely doesn’t have a gambling problem?

The urgency (mentioning it every day and refusing to discuss the details) has to be coming from somewhere.

BernardButlersBra · 21/01/2026 08:54

If he thinks it's such a great idea then he can explain how it's all going to work e.g. pick ups / drop offs, school holidays, meal prep etc. Plus WHY. This is the reason l went back to work nearly full time after maternity leave, l dropped some hours and so did my husband. Also so he realises how much work is involved with children and he's actively engaged in it all rather than coasting / avoiding it

People saying the OP are lazy are making me laugh, they have 3 children and she still does work a few days a week. He doesn't sound like a super involved husband or dad