City solicitors - Does 4 day week work for you?

[Faithfeather]

Any city solicitors working a 4-day week? Pros and cons? Which day off works best?

What a lot of franklys

My first seat in a magic circle firm was for someone who only worked 4 days a week - from my point of view it was a nightmare as things would get dumped on me and I didn't have the experience to cope. However, the woman in question worked in property litigation and would work the extra day if needed, and take a chunk of time off later on. She was always available for calls etc on her day off, as I think she sensibly kept the nanny working on that day too. She was never promoted because of this though, as she was perceived to be a part timer, despite probably working more hours than most, and she was the most efficient worker I have ever known.

Her work/life balance was obviously OK for her as she ended up with 5 kids, full time supernanny, and a career.

I spent 6 years at the magic circle firm then moved to a bank. When I had DD, knowing what I know about the hours and transactions involved, I quit working and will start our own company instead. Transactional hours and babies just didn't mix for me. I do wish I had trained in some other field now, that would allow part time work or at least a fixed 9-5 day.

I hope my daughters (and my sons) take informed decisions -three are at university or law school now. I think their friends and they are quite clued up as to what the demands of particular jobs are and hours and of course pay and they balance those things out when they take decisions and also know most of us don't stay in open job from 22 to 65 these days.

I do think in some jobs you work very hard to get the part time or flexible option, no one thanks you for it, your husband dumps the children and dry cleaning on you because your work becomes pin money and isn't as important as his, you lose the promotion prospects at work, lose your client base to some extent and I am certain your children don't thank you for it either so you end up with in effect some extra hours of domestic service, cleaning and child care. Always seems such a bad deal to me - I can hardly see the gains in that and then before you know it they're all off at school anyway even if you have 5 like me, or they're teenagers and barely grunt at you and they never come back and say - mummy you laid down your life and career for me, I am so eternally grateful, do they? Chances are they just resent the family's lower income and their mother's lower status.

But perhaps the key issue is for 20 + years I have really loved my work. I would do it even if I won the lottery although I might ditch some bits of it. It is a hobby as much as work and for a lot of men and women it certainly isn't that and you even get men and women fighting it out at home because they don't want to be the sole wage earner and they'd both like to be at home like the man I was talking to yesterday.

the problem with working at City law firms is that it doesn't matter how dedicated and organised you are, the goal posts are always moved on transactional deadlines at the whim of clients. You have absolutely no control over timing and your job is to get the deal done. I think integrated working is possibly the way forward. There's often down time when you are waiting for things to happen when you can squeeze in personal admin

I've only seen a job share work well once in 10 years (and that wasn't on a very testing matter). I think you'd have to pick your own job share partner very carefully, not make do with someone else who also wants to work part time

Xenia I think alll you say is absolutely true. My problem is I've wanted to retrain and change my career for a while now but while I was single and struggling to support myself I didn't have the courage to take the financial hit that re-training would mean.

Now have a husband in a career he loves I would love to use that as a safety net to retrain for a couple of years to do a career I've always thought I'd like despite it being worse paid than what I do now.

So much of my effort into finding a part-time job solution or my thoughts about moving somewhere cheaper and giving up work are,if I'm totally honest, as much about my desire to change career as they are about being there a bit more for ds, though that does play a big role.

My personal view is that if you are doing what you love be that being a SAHM or a in a full-time job you will have the emotional energy to 'be there' for your children when they need it.

That in the end is what they will thank you for.

Gryffingirl, that is exactly why my job is very difficult to do part time. We are at the whim of cleint deadlines and schedules and have no real control over that. It can be very stressful.

Totally agree GryffinGirl. The only reason I am able to be on MN so much the last few days is because I've hit some down time. I know for a fact I'll be busy again next week and it's quite frustrating because I would love to be at the sanctuary home right now having some treatments and chilling catching up on stuff.

Or even better change career and get an even better paid job. I do think in almost anything you can make a lot of money. Ex nurses have founded big chains of nursing agencies and made millions etc etc. I never see much point in picking low paid options. Even if you love landscape gardening you might as well set up a nationwide chain of it rather than just doing it in a low paid way surely.

I'm going through the partnership process right now, which is an interminable "journey" and ironically I find that I am in trouble for working too hard. Bad role model.

Erm but what was I supposed to do? Miss the deadline? Bully my team into working longer hours than they already are doing?

Sometimes you just can't win ....

I think I must be very lucky because I work in a field where I am very much in demand at the moment but I have managed to negotiate a four and a half days worked in four days situation. What that means in pratice is that I am in the office for three whole days and two mornings a week but I start at eight instead of nine and so actually get paid for four and a half days.

It does mean that I have to meet the target for a four and a half day worker in four days but I do a couple of hours work in the evenings when DCs are in bed.

It really gives me the best of both worlds. Might be worth a shot depending on what sort of law you do?