I can't work out what is reasonable and what is not anymore - please help me sort out what we should consider doing in this situation!
We have a 2.5 year old DS who normally attends nursery full time. I work 3 days a week at a job I really love and which is very fulfilling and meaningful to me. I trained a long time to be able to do the work. Although the nature of my job means I am unable to work from home with a child in the throes of the terrible 2s, I have not been furloughed (I think because my manager thinks it makes our department look better to say everyone's working). My colleagues without children and with private space at home have been able to keep working at about 80% capacity. I'm doing bits and pieces of admin, but I'm not really 'earning my keep' work-wise, and if nurseries don't reopen properly until September or beyond, I'll be for the chop, without a doubt.
My DH lost his contract (self-employed through a limited company) at the end of March and has been looking for work with no success ever since. He's been having several interviews a week, but the jobs keep being pulled because of hiring freezes. Each interview is about 4 hours long, and involves hours of technical tasks to do in advance. Trying to get a job in his field is more or less a full time job in itself. He is finding this all extremely stressful, and I am finding it very hard keeping our DS quietly occupied while the interviews go on upstairs in our relatively small house.
In normal circumstances, my DH earns about 7 times as much as I do. If he were in work, I would accept that my job had to take the hit and I would ask to be furloughed.
However, my workplace is re-opening around the end of May and want me go in to the office where I could return to some of my normal duties. There might full-time work if I wanted it, and though it would be very tight, we could live on that salary. As my DS's nursery looks extremely unlikely to be up and running on 1 June, I have asked DH if he would consider doing childcare 2 days a week in the first instance, so I can return to some productivity at work. He doesn't think this makes sense, saying the best way I can support the family is to look after DS while he finds another job, as he has the far greater earning potential.
I do get that. But, given that the economy is about to tank like never before in living memory, though, there is every chance that he might not find a job for months; it seems daft to me to risk the one income we do have when there is an adult at home who could look after DS.
My job is with a reputable organisation that will survive the pandemic with no trouble. Good pension, good benefits. I just worry that if I throw it over and DH is unemployed for the next year or whatever I will really regret it and probably be very resentful.
What should we do? Is a job in hand worth 2 in the bush, so to speak
? I am so stressed I don't feel like I can think clearly about it anymore.