Part time dilema on days....

[jaabaar]

Hi,

I am appealing to the experiences of mums who work part time:

Which days are best to work part time?
I requested 3 days. Was offered the following:

a) 2 full days plus 2 half days OR
b) 3 full days plus 1 half day

Bear in mind I have to travel 1h10 min each way.

Do you thing it is better to go for option b) as I am already in the city I might as well work the 3rd day full and only take the 4th day half as I can say now w/e starts?

Which days are better???

a) Mon, Tue, Wed Full and Thur half OR
b) Tue, Wed, Thur Full and Fri half?

I know that usually you only start seeing the advantages/disadvantages when you actually start working.

Thanks for your inputs.... appreciate!

:)

what were their reasons for turning down three full days only?

did they stipulate what hours you had to work, ie 9-5? if not could you say to them u would like to work monday half day later start/earlier finish, eg fully day being 9-5, but you working 10-1.30pm/2pm then full days tues and weds, and then half day thursday? that way you only have to get up early for two mornings, get home late two nights.

do you think practically you can manage 3 1/2 days, because it will be near enough like going to work four full days when you count travelling?

i like to keep a friday free, its psychological really but it gives me a chance to recover from working and rushing around whilst ds is at school so i have more energy to do things with him at the weekend

3 days were turned down because they said I need to be in to deal with emails. They refused to let me do this from home.

On the half day I would start 8.30 and leave at 11.30 so that I can pick up DD by 1.00 from nursery. I would be at home at 1.30.

I cant do hours like you suggest e.g. to work till 1.30 as I HAVE to pick her up by 1.00 otherwise I am charged a full day in the nursery.

Very good point about the Friday! Will defo keep Friday off!

Thanks..

I work Tues, Weds, Fri 9.15-3.45 (with 1.5+ hrs commute), I like these so far, don't get that Sunday evening back to school feeling. And due to leave arrangements I would have to use a day of my allocation every Bank hol Monday. 3 days in a row would be a bit tiring for all of us (DD is 18 months) rushing round getting ready, coming home an hour before bed, and often I take a Friday off and have a long weekend.

B and b for me. Might as well work a full day if you're there.

I'd do (b) and (b). Short days at work combined with rushing around doing nursery or school pickup, homework, clubs, tea, bedtime, etc. feels like you have done a double shift, yet at work you leave stuff unfinished and don't feel efficient.

But Friday pm is nice to take off to wind down and since many other people still in the office also wind down, you won't be missing as much as on other days.

Meanwhile Mondays are a good day to have off because you end up with more holiday in lieu of pro data bank holidays (you would get about 2 days' extra holiday as you could only take 50% or less than the bank holidays available to you).

Did you mean in your OP that option (a) is two full days and 3 half days? Because otherwise as you have posted it, option a is less hours than option b - in which case grab it!

I would go for the two full and two half shifts, if that is what is on offer. That way your DD is only in child care for two long days rather than three. I find this does make a difference in terms of mummy time. You will be with her one full day, two afternoons and the weekend. I like working Fridays (everyone is in a good mood)and being off on a Monday (if youve had a busy/fun weekend you can get yourself straight on Monday before your are back into the working week.

However, if 2 full + 3 half versus 3 full + 1 half is the actual option, then I would have to go for the latter due to travel time.

HTH

Try for Tues, Wed, Thurs full days and Friday half day - long weekends all year, plus, as muminlondon says, extra annual leave entitlement. Winner!

I would also go for 3 full + 1 1/2 Not quite clear about the hours as TiraMissYou says, but am thinking they are reasonig you need be there at least 4 days of the week for some of the time?
I would go for second option even if first option is less hours,(assuming if you're working more hours you're being paid for more hours) because in my experience , as others have said, short or half days seem to be the worst of both worlds, especially as you have a fairly long travel.
I currently work 3 short days(9.15 till 2.30) and one full day (9.15 til 5.15) and I HATE my short days. Feels rushed at work, things dont get finished, then I rush to school for school pick up, then have that terrible after school chaos time and day is over...so I feel no real benefit of that time I'm not at work.I would much prefer 3 full days...A whole day off is worth any number of half days off in my opinion.
Fridays off is good though....
Also it may be possible to find a nursery that will charge an hourly rate over the morning session. My DS2 is at nursery, and on my short days I pick him up at 3pm, I pay for full morning session, then hourly rate for 2 extra hours (1-3) so dont have to pay for full day. Not sure that helps, but might give you more options.
Good luck in whatever you decide

I liked having Mondays off. Not only was it a gentler start to the week, but also most Bank Holidays are on Mondays. This meant that when the pro rata'ed my annual leave allowance against hours worked and working pattern, allowance was made for the "lost" Bank Holidays and I got an extra day or two AL which could be taken at any time.