As busy moms across the nation celebrate their special day on May 13, many are wishing they could have more quality time with their families year 'round. One-in-four working moms (25 percent) say they are dissatisfied with their work/life balance, according to a new CareerBuilder.com survey of 1,124 women, employed full-time, with children under the age of 18 living at home. Forty-four percent say they would take a pay cut if it meant they could spend more time with their kids and nearly one- in-ten (9 percent) say they would give up ten percent or more of their salary. Of working moms who are not the sole financial provider, nearly half (49 percent) say they would leave their job if their spouse or significant other made enough money for the family to live comfortably.
While moms continue to burn the midnight oil for work, many miss quality time with their children. Thirty-two percent of working moms say they spend less than three hours per day with their children. Nearly a quarter (23 percent) report they have missed three or more significant events in their child's life in the last year. More than a third (35 percent) have missed 2 or more.
Moms feel, even when they are home, work is often keeping them from family time. Thirty-one percent of working moms report bringing work home at least once a week and 17 percent at least three times per week. More than a quarter (28 percent) say their job is negatively impacting the relationship they have with their children.
"Career moms should keep in mind that compensation isn't the only thing that is negotiable," said Mary Delaney, chief sales officer at CareerBuilder.com and mother of three. "As companies face a shrinking pool of qualified labor, retaining top talent has become a key business objective and companies are reshaping their policies. From mother's rooms to flexible work schedules to job sharing to onsite daycare, company-wide initiatives to accommodate and even encourage employees to balance work and family life are becoming commonplace."
According to the survey, nearly four-in-ten working moms say their companies offer flexible work arrangements. Of those who have taken advantage of these arrangements, the vast majority (65 percent) say it has not negatively impacted their career progress.
Delaney recommends the following tips for managing the balancing act:
Selling Your Boss on a More Flexible Work Schedule
1. Have a game plan - your recommendation should be presented as a well
thought out strategy that demonstrates how you will be more productive
in a flexible work situation. Come with a plan already laid out and
show your boss you have thought through the process.
2. Ease into it - Often companies implement new programs and strategies in
stages - in order to make your plan more palatable to your boss,
consider a plan that will gradually work up to your goal.
3. Be prepared and practiced - Anticipate questions/concerns your boss may
raise and determine in advance how you will address those concerns.
Also, be prepared to negotiate. If your boss isn't prepared to accept
the entire proposal, are there other, smaller actions that will
alleviate the pressure.
Achieving Work/Life Balance
1. Have a date night - its long been said quality over quantity. Schedule
dates and special activities with each of your kids. This allows you to
start traditions, create fond memories and will remind your kids how
important they are to you.
2. Keep one calendar - unfortunately it's often easier to cancel on your
child than on a potential client. Scheduling business and family
obligations on the same calendar will lessen your chances of forgetting
a personal commitment when you're planning work activities. It will
also help you avoid over-scheduling and alert you if your commitments
are unbalanced.
3. Leave the building - when you go on vacation, go on vacation. When you
have a day off take a day off. Many working moms feel they will lose a
competitive edge if they ever truly leave the office at the office. But
when you focus on other things and come back refreshed you will deliver
a better work product.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 1124 Mothers with a child under the age of 18 living in their household (Mothers are age 18+ within the United States, employed full-time; not self employed; with no involvement in hiring decisions) between February 15 and March 6, 2007. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
With a pure probability sample of 1124 one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2.9 percentage points. Sampling error for data from subsamples is higher and varies. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job site with more than 21 million unique visitors and over 1.5 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc.
Media Contact: Jennifer Sullivan 773-527-5393Jennifer.Sullivan@careerbuilder.com
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SOURCE: CareerBuilder.com
CONTACT: Jennifer Sullivan of CareerBuilder.com, +1-773-527-5393,
Web site: http://www.careerbuilder.com/