Why do people work part time ? I've never understood it...

[mozhe]

I never have, but lots of colleagues in NHS did....you end up doing 3/4 of the work for 1/2 the salary, and get passed over in the promotion stakes...And have you noticed that it's nearly always women who do this ? Why ? I actively discourage junior staff from doing this but lots seem to....

It always amazes me that some people seem to go to work just for work's sake.

I go to work for money

There are other benefits but I could probably have those benefits without doing paid work

I have a 3 year old DS and I think he deserves to spend a reasonable amount of time with me...my definition of reasonable is at least half of his day.

The money I earn P/T is enough

It doesn;t really get anymore complicated than that

I work for work's sake. But, I waited until ds went to school and would not have worked if I couldn't get a job to fit in with his schooling and hoildays. I am very lucky. We don't need my money, but it does come in handy.

Sorry Dior that is not really what I meant

I meant the attitude that (paid) work somehow defines who and what you are, like if you don;t do it, you are somehow a lesser person.

ive just finished my phd, i have chosen to stay home with DD, i have a casual part time job which Definately does not utilise my skills and intellect. I wouldnt change it for the world, i do not believe for one minute i am throwing away my education, one i scraped for myself after leaving school having not even sat o levels. A very wise lady said to me that having the education will change the way i parent, she was so right, im confident enough to seek advice and decide for myself if i agree with it etc, im calmer and more focused on dd2 than i was on dd1 who was born when i was too young.

My field does dictate that a long career break is definately a bad thing but i made my choice and i love being a SAHM, we can just manage financially, just! My choice to work very part time brings in some extra cash and i get to see old friends etc and interact with grown ups for a couple of afternoons per week.

Oh I'm too literal! Too late for subtlety

Mozhe
I agree women often get screwed in this area, completely. Haven't read all the posts. But some people don't care so much about becoming CEO of hte company or whatever but they DO want to keep stuff like pensions ticking over, private health insurance (if they get it), and their skills generally updated so if they HAD to return to full time work for some unforseen reason, they have not made it harder for themselves to return to the workforce.

I think those are very good reasons indeed. It's not really feasible in my job because I can't just shut the door on days off, because of hte nature of the work I do, but it is something I am nevertheless considering about trying to make work.

"The thing is women like myself and Xenia,
(and others, there are others out there on MN!), who have large families,(because we want to), and work hard at demanding careers are not odd or unusual, there are many of us".

Maybe. But there's nothing odd or unusual about people who want to/choose to/have no choice but to WORK PART-TIME.

You silly silly individual.

Thank God we don't all work in the NHS.

Haven't read the whole thread, 'cos I was @ work . I work term-time only, so have school holidays off (approx 12 weeks now while they are in state schools - will be more from next year when DS1 goes to priveate secondary)). This is not meant to sound big-headed, but I have just been awarded a prize for being the top- achieving person in our divsion, with a target the same as the other 19 who all work full-time. My boss, who initially vigorously opposed my application to go part time, was man enough to admit recently that it was the best thing that could have happened as I am more motivated and now have immense loyalty to the company.It IS possible to have a fun, interesting and challenging part-time job and still have lots of time with the DC.
In the company I work for there are now lots of variants so p/t and men also take it up. One of our most repected senior project manages is a male who works 4 day week.
I didn't vote for this govt and frequesntly criticise them , but the right to be taken seriously wehn asking for part-time is one of their big achievements imho.

Will read thread tomorrow but I get paid for the hours I work, have not been passed over for promotion and enjoy my job.

I am maintaining a career (and chartered status) that I spent 5 years additional studying for. I feel valued, respected, challenged, have a good relationship with colleagues, I get paid too and use the money for nice things like days out, season tickets for theme parks, holidays, quality food and wine etc.

I also have a lot of time with my children too which is good for all of us. They have a stimulating time at nursery and fun at grandparents 1 day so I think it does them good too.

I don't work full time because my 3 children are 6,3,10mths and the childcare cost would be ridiculous, I would get little quality time with them mon-fri, I would probably be shattered too and I couldn't bear the hassle of multiple drop offs/collections 5 days a week.

Yes it is always nearly women because lots of women want to and have a better chance of getting part time hours. Not so many men want to or are not given the chance if they ask. There is also the assumption that women are the main child carers and many are happy to take a back seat on the career front and let the man have all the power and money instead.

Hope you understand it a bit more now mozhe

mozhe you said "after all I find it hard to believe people would throw away hard earned education and rights,( won for us by previous generations...), to stay at home all the time, dependant on another adult economically whilst they are perfectly capable of working themselves"

I think the "rights" that were won by previous generations were for women to have a choice of a career if they wanted, not for every mother to work full time and pass the vast majority of childcare onto someone else. Although of course the actual amount of childcare/work done in previious generations would have depended on the social class.

I don't feel that I'm letting previous generations of women down by shoosing to look after my own children a lot of the time.

Anyway I thought it was about part time working not women who "stay at home all the time".

Oh it's the same old same old Gess.

Xenia is obsessed with sex and money and Mohze...well I don't really understand her at all, except I do think for a psychiatrist, her understanding of human nature is frighteningly limited.

kookaburra - well done you - a real blow for sanity! stories like that are good for all of us - mums and dads, parents and non-parents - a solid piece of proof that the world doesn;t fall apart when people work less hours!

You know, that JK Rowling, she threw away her education, didn't she?

When she didn't work I mean.

There she was, sitting in a cafe writing. And no-one was paying her. If she'd been sitting in Sainsbury's being a good role-model to her children, showing that women can work and be breadwinners, that would have been a much better use of her time and her life than all that silly unpaid writing, wouldn't it?

It's so, so misogynistic at heart. A couple deciding to split the child rearing/money earning jobs equally means the one who raises the child is a prostitute. If you are educated but decide to take a little time to care for your children, that means girls should not be educated. Hideous, deeply misogynistic views. I think people who think these things really hate women.

Message from Mozhe further down, saying that as someone who works 7 - 7 five days a week "I am a full time mother too". Come ON! Lets climb back into the realm of reality here. FINE, if you want to work more than full time, do so, that's your right. You cannot then say you are a full time mother as well. That really is wanting it all ways.

You are not. Physical reality of situation.

who cares if you take a few years out to raise your kids. Assuming the majority here are 20s to early 40s, most of us will be working into our 70s anyway, so lots (and lots and lots) of time to make up for the 5-10 years off to enjoy your children while they are children!

oh how i wish there was a choice to be made. stay at home knitting and making apple pie. or join the rat race.....

or.... how about work in a factory for shit money - no rat race. no apple pie.

this argument is going to be forever sterile.

becuase it firstly presumes choice.

then someone says " hold on wheres the choice" then it goes back to " yeah but if there were a choice" and the presumption of choice.

its bull shit man,

you know aloha, I think you;re right aboutthe misogyny. the idea that staying at home to take care of your kids makes you unworthy of education is downright medieval. it's hideous hideous hideous

I agree, it's disgusting.

I am actually disgusted to see such an argument being put forward on a mother's site.

If it were posited that any other group in society were not worthy of being educated for any reason, there would be an outcry.

Disgraceful.

Mozhe "the stirer".

I don't believe you were truly intereted in the views of fellow mums who decide to work part time . In my opinion, you deliberatly started the thread to blow your silly trumpet!

Well done if this what you set up yourself to do. You have succeded! We all now know how happy you are with your choices and how dismissive and unintersted you seemed to other women's post as you haven't engaged with any of them!

A very scary lady!

surely its more important for mums to be educated, to pass that education onto their children so children are in position to get worthy jobs to keep this debate going....

sorry, trying to be funny and failing while I tackle my insomnia. but seriously, i'm educated, I like and value learning and surely that's something it's vitally important that any parent passes onto their child.

i'm just chipping in without fully reading the posts so sorry if i'm being comlpetely irrelevant

this argument appears on mn often these days and it is so boring, and against what mn is all about. we are here to support one another or find answers to questions, or just some friendly conversation with people in the same situations.
if you are out here putting down the way someone else has chose to live you are mean, have low confidence, and need to relax.
as long as everyone is happy or in the least, doing their best to be, it is fine to work/not work/ part time/full day and weekends, whatever you like.

Is this thread some sort of psychiatric experiment Mozhe is trying out??

Chelseamum...I feel I have engaged, although maybe some people haven't heard what they want, and I've certainly tried to reply to various posters concerns/points..so I think that's a little unfair. I do want to hear other peoples points of view,( and some have been interesting, others haven't ), otherwise why would I start a thread ? The posts I find less informative are the ones that just sling abuse at me,( though in themselves they are food for thought too..), and ones that are just not related to the topic under discussion. I'm genuinely baffled as to why you think me scary...
Also on another point, I like to interject into a thread every now and then and let the thread ' have it's head ' so to speak...also working/looking after family etc.,so cannot stay on here for ever.

Unknown..no, but in it's strength of feeling it reminds me of a view I put to my team ,( some years ago now but it has certainly ' followed ' me around..),that all medication/drugs, prescribed/unprescribed, legal/illegal should be available at Tescos..I suddenly became known as 'that doctor who thinks kids should be able to buy heroin at supermarkets', very strong feelings pursued me for months/years...