Should I go back to work??

[Eliza100]

I'm due to go back to work in January after having my second child. I went back to work after having my first but I am on the fence about going back.
I only work 2 days a week and my son is in nursery. I don't love my job but don't hate it either. It does offer flexibility in the hours I work and the team are lovely. But I'm not sure I want to go back. We can afford it financially but the only thing I am concerned about is giving up a role which I know and it does offer flexible working which I think will benefit me more when kids are in primary school as we don't have any other support with drop off and pick up etc.
My fear is I leave and not be able to get a similar role when I am ready to go back to work again.

I wondered if anyone else has been in this situation and what you did? I have already been in touch with my employer and know what I would have to pay back too.

Any advice welcome 🙂

A flexible role is worth everything to try and keep it. There is so much risk to you and your children if you don’t work, the job market is nearly impossible now and only set to get worse. Your pension and future you will be grateful of you sticking to it. And it’s only 2 days a week - you still have 5 days off every week. I went back full time to a job where I travel away every other week. You’ve a much softer option there!

I'm not really seeing any reasons why you think it's a good idea to leave. I can afford not to work, but I choose to work because it keeps me sane.

I'd keep the job. It's really, really difficult to find flexible work without already working somewhere - I've been looking!

Keep the job.

Flexible part time jobs are the holy grail when your DC are at primary school. I'd hang on to this one!

Keep working

Go back to work. I don't even understand why you wouldn't given the job is only 2 days a week.

Absolutely go back to work, it's only 2 days and the flexibility sounds amazing! You can decide to leave later on but meanwhile it's advantageous in so many ways. Applying for a new job years down the line will be much more difficult, especially with all the positives you have in this one.

Go back. If it doesn’t work out then you can decide to leave.

It’s only two days, go back.

This!

Is there any possibility of a further period of leave? career break? Because then you'd be leaving your options open, but getting to stay with your kids now.

You can only ask.

Keep working!

I work 2 days a week (2 older school age children) went back last year from maternity leave, personally glad that I did, our toddler enjoys nursery and find 2 days plus annual leave (8 weeks a year) gives a great work life balance and helps us a lot financially, we actually get to keep most of my earnings as tax and NI only a small amount, below SLC threshold and funded childcare covers my 2 days (with just the nursery top up to pay) plus at least building up a bit of pension in my occupational scheme. It won’t be amazing but estimating about 15kpa if continued on same hours until SPA

Another vote for working here. You can always leave but I think if you have a role where you can work only 2 days a week, a good / flexible employer then you have something that many people would bite you hand off for.
2 days a week is a great balance. Working will keep you sane.
It will help with national insurance payments and therefore your pension (I’m no expert on this but it somehow does)
Also - no one ever thinks that their marriage will break down but you only have to see the amount of posts on here where the (usually) DW has given up working and this happens and they are left high and dry with no financial independence and find it very hard to find a job. The advice is always to keep your hand in some kind of employment.

Apart from anything else, I think it’s just good for both parties to have something else going on in their lives. Good for the marriage, it sets a good example for the DCs, it breaks up the relentlessness of caring for 2 young children. 2 days a week presumably doesn’t earn you absolute fortunes but I would hate the feeling of being completely financially reliant on someone else (even my DH - if I had one 😂) . It feels very precarious.

My DC are older now but I really got a lot from my relationships at work when my kids were young.
You are in an extremely fortunate position and I would absolutely take it.

Go back to work, depending what you do the job market is going to be utterly horrific in a few years time due to AI.

A lot of the office workers will be looking for jobs since their jobs are gone.

And if your job is an office job you should get the most out of it while you can

Speaking as someone in her fifties, your pension is a really important consideration.

Definitely go back. A flexible job is worth its weight in gold!
I worked 3 days a week when kids were little and it was a great work/life balance. It is a very flexible job so when they started school I spread the hours over 4 days so I could be finished for school pick up.

A couple of mums I know gave up work when kids were little but then had to go back into full time jobs once kids were at school and feel they miss out on a lot now.
It’s incredibly difficult to find quality part time jobs so if you give up now you will very likely find you need to take a full time job once they are in school. Maybe that would suit you fine but if you want part time and flexible I’d stay where you are

Absolutely go back, the job market is rubbish so will be so much better to keep working for the continuity and also you never know what will happen in the future it’s so risky in my opinion to rely on one persons income.

Definitely stick to working and keep the job, it sounds brilliant. As PP have said, it’s only 2days a week, it’s flexible and jobs like that are gold dust. You spend the years paying into NI, paying towards a pension and future proofing yourself more in the ways of employability and with earning power.

Again, like others have said, we don’t know what the future holds with regards to our relationships, jobs etc so it’s prudent to do what we can to help ourselves as much as possible.

I would definitely go back. It will be hard for a couple of years, but a flexible job with nice co-workers is worth its weight in gold. My DC are teenagers now, and I'm so glad I kept pushing through. My hours and commute are perfect, I kept up my pension and NI contributions and maintained my skill set and I had a financial safety net if anything happened to DH's job. The job market is not great atm, who knows what might be available in a few years, especially if you'd be looking for a part time role.

If husbands wage could cover all living expenses, I'd be tempted to go all in on investing my income for pension and overpaying mortgage, if it were me! After a few years of maternity leave and part time work you are likely well behind him in pensions and personal future planning.

Keep the job and keep a pension going. Your thank your older self I did and now I’m 50s with teens I’m very glad I did. It keeps your skills relevant, and an identity outside motherhood plus independence should you need it. No one has a crystal ball but no relationship is fail proof.

Never, never give up your job. However reliable, lovely, you think your partner is. (Are you married? Not that being married helped my aunt or my mother when their husbands vanished.) With children you need every pound you can earn!

‘We can afford it financiallY’

You as an individual can’t. Assuming you’re married your personal earning ability still matters, in many frequently arising scenarios.

The job sounds good, too.