Some bleak news for mom’s this Mother’s Day! A new survey found that, though the economy is improving, working moms say they’re struggling to “juggle it all”. Career Builder found 35 percent of moms and 44 percent of working dads say they are the sole financial provider for their household.
Not so motivating are these results:
- Working moms were three times as likely to earn less than $35,000.
- Working dads were more than twice as likely to earn $50,000 or more and nearly three times as likely to earn six figures.
CareerBuilder’s annual Mother’s Day survey was conducted from February 21 to March 10, 2011, among men and women, employed full-time, with children 18 and under living in the household. One common complaint it found was that heavier workloads and longer hours are resulting in less quality time at home.
- 25 percent of all working moms said they spend two hours or less with their children each work day, up from 17 percent in 2010.
- 24 percent take work home at least once a week.
In fact, juggling it all is so challenging, 31 percent of all working moms said they would take a job with less pay if it meant they could spend more time with their children.
"While all indications point to economic recovery, working moms are still waiting to feel the effects," said Hope Gurion, Chief Development Officer at CareerBuilder, and mother of two. "However, these moms possess a great deal of resourcefulness and resilience and continue to provide for their families. While moms say they would give up things, including pay, to spend more time with their children, they are making the most of the time they do have and getting creative in work arrangements.”
If you need some support, Gurion says here are some ideas:
Talk to other moms – Many families are in the same boat as you and having a support network is essential to your personal and professional sanity. Get tips from other working moms on how they juggle personal and professional commitments, how they’ve managed through difficult financial situations and how they’ve moved ahead in their careers.
Keep an “I’m Fabulous” file – Keep track of all of your accomplishments within the organization, quantifying results whenever possible, and list out the additional responsibilities you have taken on in the last year. It helps you to build your case when negotiating for a better salary or consideration for promotion with your employer.
Go in with a game plan – The vast majority of working moms who have taken advantage of flexible work arrangements said it hasn’t negatively impacted their careers, so talk to your supervisor or HR department and explore options. Make sure to come to that conversation with a game plan on how you can manage workload, cover responsibilities, etc.
Get organized – Structure in your life will save you time, stress and mental energy. Keep one calendar for business and family commitments to avoid double-booking. Set up a schedule for chores, homework, family activities, playtime, etc.
Remember quality over quantity – Make the most of your personal time. When you’re home, it’s all about them. Wait until after the children go to bed before checking email or finishing up that presentation.
Schedule “me time” – Working moms need to take care of themselves too. Put actual time on the calendar for an hour or more of doing something you enjoy such as going to the gym, taking a walk, reading, etc.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 484 working moms and 836 working dads of kids 18 and under living in the household (employed full-time; not self-employed; non-government) between February 21 and March 10, 2011 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 484 and 836, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 4.45 and +/- 3.39 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.
