“So, are you working?”
“When are you going back to work?”
“Surely you can find yourself, a little part-time number?”
I get asked these questions a lot. It’s like being a stay at home mum, is something to be ashamed of and you are not considered a contributing human, if you don’t have a wage packet.
My personal favourite piece of comment is; ‘Just get a job in a school, that will be perfect’.
Oh yes, no one has thought of that one. Let me just jump right onto that untapped resource and watch the offers come flooding in!
The truth is, there are lots of part time work available. If you have no commitments or restrictions on your time, travel or flexibility, you will find a job. Fact. However in the real world of parenting, you have commitments and very strict restrictions on your time, travel and flexibility.
‘Just get a little cleaning job?’. ‘Just get one of those little part time admin roles’. ‘Go work in a shop, they have loads of shifts available’. Usually these suggestions are made by people who don’t do any of these things.
I have looked into cleaning and commercial office cleaning, starts before 9am and after 5pm weekdays. Domestic cleaning is a little more flexible, offering weekends or mornings. I have no child care cover, accept 6 hours a week on one day, that my child is at Pre-School – I can’t do early mornings, after 5pm or weekends. I may not work but I am a full time parent. Even when I receive the 15 hours funded child care, I still need to be at home for before and after school and weekends.
Part-time admin. In my searches I have found that roles in this field, are usually 15 to 25 hours per week. They do not allow for weekly school runs. They require flexibility, that I cannot provide and never seem to offer the holy grail of the 10am – 2pm shift. With 6 hours of childcare per week, I realistically have 4 hours of job availability. In September I will have 15 hours of childcare so in job terms, I will have 10 – 12 hours per week, that can be utilised for work. I can work between 9.30 and 2.30pm on 2 days and 9.30 and 11.30am on the last day. Not exactly the most attractive prospect for a potential employer but that won’t stop me from trying.
Retail is a totally different beast. On the surface, there are many opportunities. Once again, all possible options rendered impossible by one thing…flexibility. Here are some examples of current retail job specifications:
‘Staff are required to start an early shift at 5am or finish a late shift at 11pm’.
‘Please note that shifts start at 7.30am’
‘You will be added to a shift rota and expected to cover 9am – 1pm and 2pm – 6pm as required’
‘Flexibility to work weekends is essential’
After a few hours of job hunting, I’m feeling quite depressed. I want to work but can only work when I have childcare in place. My husband is on a weekend rota with his job so I can’t commit to weekends. The latest the Pre-School opens is 5.50pm and that will incur extra charges for the privilege. I can only drop her off at 8.50am. It’s all very frustrating.
Agencies call me monthly, to discuss potential new roles but despite making it clear, that I can only consider part time work – they only have full time vacancies.
Work from home. At a glance there are hundreds of these roles. When actually searching for a viable role, here are some examples of what you will see:
- Beauty and Wellness Influencer – Social Media – Commission only.
- Avon Sales Representative
- Paid Online Surveys
- Tarot and Psychic Operators
Influencer? Move over Kylie Jenner! Social media is great but I will not live on there and try to persuade friends, family, acquaintances and Joe Public, to purchase products and services via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Sorry. Same with Avon, the door to door sales is no more, you can now do your hard sell from the sofa. Just login to Facebook and start pestering your nearest and dearest immediately. Online Surveys are everywhere but if you are looking for a monthly income, you may need to lower your expectations. Online surveys if taken regularly, can earn you cash and vouchers. A survey can earn you 5p or £5 depending on the source. You may join many sites and power through, or sign up for just one. Some sites only allow one survey pay out per day. Some will issue one survey per week. I was tempted to try this in the evenings. I looked into the most recommended sites and started to research if this would be a worthwhile option:
‘You earn points for taking surveys – between 5 and 250 points for each – which can then be redeemed for vouchers. You typically need 1,380 points to get a £10 voucher, and most members average four surveys a month’.
‘Participants racked up £50 cheques fairly quickly. It usually pays between 50p and £1 per survey – some have made £50 in six months’
‘Once you reach 27,000 points, you can start redeeming them for rewards. 55,000 will get you a £10 gift card for Gap, Argos, iTunes and more’
‘Surveys are infrequent (about one per month), and you can’t cash in until you hit £50. At 50p per survey, this takes years. The £50’s paid via bank transfer.’
‘Pays high amounts of £1-£5 per survey. Once you cash in your points, vouchers take four to six weeks to arrive’.
‘The payment threshold’s a low £4, and many folks rack this up every month,’
I had no idea about surveys before my research. I think I preferred being clueless about it.
Tarot and Psychic Operators…’If you love talking on the phone, whilst using your spiritual abilities, why not join our team today and start earning money from home’. Think I’ll pass.
Once I scroll through the Part Time Maths Teachers, Registered Nurse RGNs, Primary Supply Teachers, Optometrists, Live-In Carers, Night Support Workers, Chef de partie, Driving Instructors, IT Analyst and Graduate HR Officer, I feel very deflated.
Some will understand my upset, at trying to get back into the workplace, with only a small window of availability. My desire to contribute but not being able to. Others will just assume I’m just lazy and making excuses. One of the reasons, I don’t talk about my job situation much, is the amount of people that have an opinion on it. If I feel low about the lack of opportunities out there, being accused of not actually wanting a job, won’t help my already plummeting confidence. I just smile and accept any and all suggestions and keep plugging away. I love hearing the endless examples of how so-and-so got a job!
I am comforted that, if my husband was the stay at home Dad, while I worked full time – he would be treated and spoken to the same way… I laughed as I wrote that, as we all know, that isn’t true. He would be admired and respected, for holding the fort at home, while his wife kept her career on track. He wouldn’t get continually asked about his employment status. He is a full time parent. That’s the hardest but most rewarding job in the world!