Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Work

Chat with other users about all things related to working life on our Work forum.

Original poster

What are the best days to work part time?

52 replies

Holymoly321 · 10/01/2006 20:34

I'll be going back to work in September after taking a year's maternity leave. I want to go back part time and wondered if anyone had any opinions on which were the best days to do and why. Originally I thought about working Tues, Weds, Thurs so that I would have a long weekend. But now I'm wondering whether I should split that time up so that I'm not away from DS for three days at a time. What do other mums think?

OP posts:
Bozza · 10/01/2006 21:45

I like my Tues to Thurs as well. Where I work Bank Hols are pro-rataed as Hula says so I don't miss out by not working them, in fact generally (dependent on how Christmas falls) it works in my favour. Personally I would find a block easier to organise than odd days.

Bozza · 10/01/2006 21:46

And as luck would have it now that DS has started reception all the inset days do appear to be Mondays.

kikidee · 10/01/2006 21:53

I do Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and love it. I have four nice relaxed at home days and ds and I potter about and then I have three full on really busy work days. Those days fly by and before I know it it's Friday evening and I'm opening a bottle of wine and watching the West Wing. I previously did Monday, Thursday and Friday and that was a disaster. I think you achieve more if your days are together as you're in a work frame of mind and you get lots done. Ideally, I'd like to be off on a Friday but it doesn't suit my type of work so my days suit me fine. I do sometimes feel a bit sad on a Tuesday evening knowing I've got 3 days with very little time with ds until the weekend but the good outweighs the bad overall.

bobbybobbobbingalong · 10/01/2006 21:59

I work on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, a tiny bit on Friday and a tiny bit on Saturday. I work from home though and am self employed, so I don't have the bank holiday issue. I love having Wednesday off, a little sanity in the middle of the week. I am absolutely resolute about it as well - even if exams are looming it is my time for ds and I to have a whole day together. it also means that stuff around the house never builds up.

Janh · 10/01/2006 23:20

I work Mon, Tues and Fri; if I choose not to take Bank Hols off I get double time and a day off some other time as well

sinclair · 11/01/2006 10:01

Like Beansprout and others I recommend T-W-Th as you get the long weekend.

Check out the BH thing with your HR dept as my employer (huge publisher) now gives me extra holiday to compensate for the BHs that I don't see the benefit of - I get 5 weeks hols (15 days) and with the three fifths of the Mondays I miss I get 19 or 20 days - over 6 weeks in three day a week money. I can only imagine that they are doing it here as it is either the law or soon will be - any HR people who can confirm or deny?

supermum44 · 11/01/2006 10:28

I'm planning on going back T,W,Th,F and taking M as my day off as I want to have a long weekend. Didn't want to take F as my day off as F usually tends to be an easier day and everyone is demob happy for the weekend....! I will still get paid for some BH as they will be pro-rated ie instead of getting paid for all if I worked 5 days, I'll get 4/5 even though I won't normally work on M.

Absolutely dreading going back and feel sick at the thought.......

Roobie · 11/01/2006 10:33

i've just gone back mon, tues & fri and love it. never have longer than 2 days away from children and it's like having 2 weekends each week. works better from a work pov as well - i can instigate things on mon & tues and be around at the end of the week to chase them up and see things through. i previously worked mon-weds and professionally it was a disaster - far too long a gap between weds pm and mon am.

kikidee · 11/01/2006 19:37

Sinclair, although I'm not an HR person, I think you're right - it is law now to compensate you for Public holidays that fall on your regular part-time day. I think it's an EC Directive. Very topical actually as I'm having a bit of an issue at the moment in relation to my public holidays and my mum, who is sort of HRish, told me about the directive and how her company has implemented it.

bundle · 11/01/2006 19:39

Mon-Tues-Weds or Tues-Weds-Thurs. I've done both and you get a nice long weekend with either combination though the midweek is better if you use a nursery.

compo · 11/01/2006 19:41

I did Tuesdays and Fridays. When I went back ds was only 5 months and I really didn't think it was fair to put him in nursery 2 days straight after each other. Even now he doesn't sleep much at nursery so the next day at home is perfect for him to catch up on his sleep. Friday is a good day to work because everyone is in a good mood although it's a pain if you want a long weekend for holidays ect

Milge · 11/01/2006 19:45

I work Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri and have Wednesdays off. It suits me perfectly, because I have a day off at home with the kids midweek, but its not so long off, that going in for work the next day isn't too much of a chore. It makes a real difference to how I view work, means I don't use up leave for doctors/hairdressers etc. It also means not having to get up and go to work for more than 2 days on the trot.

drosophila · 11/01/2006 19:50

I will be returning to PT work and I always said that I would choose to work on a Friday cos that is when leaving dos, birthday party or whatever party is held plus you get the demob feeling and everyone is more relaxed. Will let you know if I'm right.

Also my employer (Public Sector) is always happy to alter peoples days with some notice.

beatie · 11/01/2006 20:13

When I worked p/t I worked Mon, Tues, Thurs. If

With hindsight, the best scenario for me would have been Tues, Wed, Thurs. One of the reasons I found working part time so difficult was because I did not feel fully committed to motherhood and I didn't feel fully committed to my job. I personally found it difficult to switch from mummy mode to work mode back to mummy mode, and scrunching up my work days together would have helped that.

It's wise to be mindful of what day baby/toddler activities take place in your area - if you are that way inclined.

tamum · 11/01/2006 20:20

I do 3 days by doing Monday and Thursdays all day, and Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, but that's partly because it fits much better with work if I am in at least part of most days to supervise people. It means I get to pick the children up 3 times a week, and they get out of school at noon on Fridays so we have a nice long afternoon. I work some Friday mornings as well and use it to bank time for the holidays.

I don't suppose anyone is in the least bit interested in all that, can't think why I wrote it . Just that I guess timings can depend on jobs as well as works best for children.

hoxtonchick · 11/01/2006 20:21

another spooky coincidence tamum .

tamum · 11/01/2006 20:24

Doo do doo doo, doo do doo doo

Blatant thread hijack: any more news of the move?

hoxtonchick · 11/01/2006 20:30

basically no, but i'll e-mail you!

twirlaround · 11/01/2006 20:33

I can't switch off from work unless I take my days off in one block. If I could though I think it would be easier to organise myself if I had a day of in the middle of the week.

jac34 · 11/01/2006 20:37

I work Tues/Wed/Thurs, which I think works best for me,I work 3 full days(22.5hours).
On Tues/Wed,I don't start till 9:30am so that I can drop the boys at school,but then go in early on a Thursday to make up for this.So the only day I don't take them to school is Thursday.
We don't use any childcare now their in school,as DH picks up the days I am working.

I started working these days as we have StepDD every weekend.So I've always done cleaning/shopping/laundry etc.,on Friday so we've got the weekend together as a family.Then after 3 kids have rampaged through the house all weekend,I have Mondays free for another clear up and get myself organised before going to work on Tuesday.

Bozza · 11/01/2006 23:03

Tamum I am hoping to move to something like your schedule once the kids are both at school. But with DD in nursery full days make more sense.

leogaela · 12/01/2006 10:25

Tues, wed, thurs. The weekend starts early and finishes late. 60% is definitely a good balance.
I feel better about putting ds in childcare for 3 consecutive days as it makes it more routine for him and less confusing.
Its also easier to pick up things at work you were doing the day before (except on Tuesday).

lazycow · 12/01/2006 15:27

Sometimes you don't have a lot of choice. My employer allowes me to work PT but said they wanted me to work Monday (one other employee has Mon off and we work together a lot and cover for each other) and also not to have 3 days together so if I was needed at work I was always going to be in within a day and not having long periods of time away from the office. My job is deadline based so this is important.

I thus work Mon, Weds and Thurs not actually my first choice but I quite like the fact that on Mon I can look forward to a day at home with DS and even on Weds I only have two days at work before I'm home again Fri-Sun.

This works pretty well for me but despite a really hectic job I've never had any problems switching off once at home so that really doesn't bother me. Tuesday is my Toddler & mother day and maybe the park or meeting another mum and Friday is catch up on cleaning/washing etc and maybe an outing with DS. That way weekends are completely family time.

I must say I had terrible pnd but since going back to work ft that has disappeared. I couldn't wotk ft though - I'm just too lazy.

Also my childminder does not charge for bank holidays so that is not a problem

lazycow · 12/01/2006 15:29

sorry meant to say since going back to work 'pt' not ft
duh!!

oliveoil · 12/01/2006 15:39

Tues, Weds, Thurs, 9am-4pm, so home for tea . Or some days!

Swipe left for the next trending thread