Quality time with family is the most important "to-do" on working moms' lists this Mother's Day. In fact, some working moms report struggling to find work/life balance as they take on additional hours and second jobs in tough financial times. Thirty percent of working moms, whose companies have had layoffs in the past 12 months, are working longer hours and 14 percent of working moms have taken on second jobs in the last year to help make ends meet. One-third (34 percent) reported they are burned out. This is according to CareerBuilder's annual Mother's Day survey conducted from February 20 to March 11, 2009, among 496 women, employed full-time, with children under the age of 18.

Working moms are feeling increased pressure to be able to continue providing for their households and are spending more time on work. Forty percent of working moms fear losing their jobs today more than they did one year ago. Forty-three percent work more than 40 hours per week, while 16 percent of working moms reported bringing work home at least two days a week. Six percent said work comes home with them every workday.

Increased workloads are impacting the quantity and quality of time spent with their families. Nearly one-in-five working moms (19 percent) said they spend two hours or less with their children each day. One-in-four (25 percent) reported they had missed two or more significant events in their child's life in the last year.

"More than anything, working moms want the gift of time this Mother's Day," said Mary Delaney, President of CareerBuilder's talent management and recruitment outsourcing division, Personified, and mother of three. "Nearly one-third say that despite it being one of the toughest economies in the nation's history, they would even consider taking a pay cut to spend more time with their kids. If you're struggling with work/life balance, talk to your manager. Working moms who communicate their need for flexible time, job sharing or something in between will find that most companies are receptive to these kinds of policies."

Many working moms choose to work alternative schedules so they can spend more time with their kids. Fifty-five percent of working moms say they take advantage of flexible work arrangements at their organizations, with the vast majority reporting that work style adjustments have not adversely affected their career progress.

Delaney recommends the following tips for managing the working mom balancing act:

  1. Take care of yourself - It may seem like there is never enough time for
     yourself, but be sure to take an hour or two each week to enjoy your
     favorite activities. If you need help sticking to it, block off the
     time in your calendar as an appointment so you don't cancel your "me
     time."
  2. Talk to your manager - Propose alternative work arrangements that not
     only provide better work/life balance, but positively impact
     productivity. Suggest compressed work-weeks, flexible hours that let
     you start earlier and leave earlier and telecommuting.
  3. Keep a routine - Make sure that chores, dinners and other household
     responsibilities are planned and scheduled in advance to save you time,
     stress and mental energy. Having a solid routine in place helps the
     whole family operate more smoothly and allows for more quality family
     time.
  4. Make the most of family time - Sometimes getting home from work to a
     whole other set of to-dos can feel like the second shift of your day.
     Learn to not sweat the small stuff and take full advantage of your
     family time by enjoying activities with your kids and putting other
     menial tasks on the back burner.

  5. Lighten the load - While you may be tempted to be involved in every
     project and every conference call, get comfortable with delegating
     responsibilities to members of your team. Not only will this allow your
     staff to continue to grow, but it will help alleviate your day-to-day
     duties.


  Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder between February 20 and March 11, 2009 among 496 U.S. female workers (ages 18 and over, employed full-time; not self-employed with at least one child under 18 years old living at home). Percentages for some questions are based on a subset of these U.S. female workers, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 496, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 4.4 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder

CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract their most important asset - their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com, is the largest in the U.S. with more than 23 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 31 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world's top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and data analysis to talent acquisition. More than 9,000 Web sites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder's proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. , Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company and Microsoft Corp. , CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com

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  allison.nawoj@careerbuilder.com

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SOURCE: CareerBuilder