Working two days a week

[Summermeadowflowers]

I work three days a week, and I am on maternity leave at the moment. I’m not due back until the end of June, but I do need to give a fair bit of notice if I want two days rather than three. When I go back, DS will be three and a half and DD will be eleven months. My DH works away quite a lot so most of the parenting falls on me, we have no other help.

My main reasons are:

• It will give me a day with just DD to do baby/toddler things - DS will be at nursery/preschool for three days regardless.
• More flexibility. I currently work Monday Tuesday Wednesday and I’d like to ask for Monday off - it would mean we could have family breaks in the UK while the children aren’t school age.
• less chance of having to ask for time off to cover child sickness etc.
• Not needing much wraparound care when DS starts school (2025.)

My main concern is that it will prohibit a full time return in future should I want to. It feels like three days is the tipping point in some ways - two days is more of a job than career if that makes sense. Any experiences?

I would not have thought that returning to full time work would be any harder from a starting point of two days than it would be from three days. The company either have the work and want you or they don’t.

And being brutally honest, and speaking as someone that has had a very senior (full time) career but currently works part time - most people are going to see a part time worker as somebody who wants a job not a career. So if you want to do two days and can, do two days.

Some types of jobs do allow for promotions even for us paltry part time workers, luckily.

I don't know what you do, but in my job certainly I wouldn't feel connected and in the loop if I did 2 days. I do 3 and am often forgotten about for meetings etc. It's a risk I'd say, how important is it to you to feel visible in the organisation?

Depends on the workplace but I agree with PP about not feeling in the loop enough on 2 days.

I've always worked 3 days since DC but I did a short stint of 2 days. It was awful and I really struggled. I worked Wed and Thurs and every week I felt like I'd just come back from holiday and loads had happened I needed to catch up on! It wasn't enough time in work for me to feel a part of it whereas 3 days is for me.