Made Redundant on Mat Leave & Now Weighing Up Options

[GemstoneCF]

Hi All,

Bit of a long story but here we go - both my husband and I were made redundant during my Mat leave, him when our daughter was 5 weeks old, me when she was 3 months old. I was a senior manager at a global tech business, he is the lesser earner in creative industry. We’ve had a bit of a time of it so this was just the tip of the iceberg in a very eventful maternity leave (she’s now nearly 9 months). I was quite new into my senior role (I had previously been an EA and was promoted 2.5 years into my 4 year tenure) and so have been unsure what kind of role to go into next, as being at a big company in a well paid job was extremely stressful and with little flexibility, so I’ve been considering stepping back into my previous role as an EA. Sacrificing time with my daughter doesn’t seem worth the title and money that comes with the level of responsibility in my more senior role, but at the same time I feel a bit of disappointment in losing that title / my pride?

My Husband is freelancing and making good money, but I can’t afford to take a big pay cut or do part time hours as our bills are considerably high (we are both from London and live here, and it is crazy expensive) so this has also been part of my dilemma as to which level of role to take.

I’m now at final stages for two roles - one is an EA job, still very well paid but about 15k pay cut from my senior role. The other is the senior job title and same salary as before, but a more corporate, high pressure role with less flexibility. The good thing about both is that they are fully remote, so there should still be some level of flexibility because of that.

I may not end up in a position where I have to choose (might not get one or either of them!!) but if you were in this position / have been in this position what would you do? I feel like I’m swallowing a lot of my pride by looking at less senior roles, but my confidence has been knocked by being made redundant and going for the more senior ones, and I’m worried it will mean sacrificing time with my daughter which I just don’t want to do. I’ve watched so many senior leaders miss their kids’ parties, plays, milestones and I honestly don’t care that much about climbing the corp ladder, so I’m feeling confused about where to go next.

hope this makes sense….pls be kind in your responses!!

X

I would go senior. I think you ultimately get more flexibility the more senior you are. You just have to be ruthless about kids stuff you don't want to miss and get them in your diary the instant you know about them or even roughly when they are.

I would also buy in some help if you can, it will give you greater sanity.

You can't buy time with your children ... taje the EA role and have a review in a few years

Are both roles similar hours, would you need the same childcare for each?

If yes, then I'd take the senior role and try to build up some goodwill so that you can maybe reduce your hours/days when your DC start school - that's when more flexibility is priceless.

If one of the roles would mean less childcare, such as fewer days, then I'd take that role.