Jobs and Moms

FlexJobs: Your Work, Your Life, Your Way!

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Can You Afford to Work Part Time (Part One)

More time to spend with the children…extra hours to devote to gardening…less stress in the morning.  Sounds delightful, no?  If you’ve been daydreaming about cutting your work hours back, a part-time schedule may be just what the doctor ordered.  Impossible, you say?  Well, once you factor in the expenses associated with working, especially if you’re paying a significant portion of your income towards childcare, you might discover that you can afford to cut back your working hours- - even if only for a short period of time.  Filling out the following worksheet should help you make sense (and cents!) of the dollars involved.  Who knows…the results may just surprise you! STEP ONE – Calculate the effects of a reduction of hours on income. Going part-time will involve a reduction in income, typically prorated according to the total number of hours you work.  Therefore, if you decide to work a 3/5 schedule your salary will be reduced by forty percent (i.e., if you presently earn $50,000 and decide to work three days a week, your new salary will be $30,000).  Be aware that your employer may also prorate (or even eliminate) your compensation for time off due to vacation, personal, sick days, holidays, etc., so factor that into your financial planning as well.   INCOME CURRENT PROPOSED       BASE PAY     BONUS     COMPANY 401-K     TOTAL     My projected total income when I go part-time is ____________________. STEP TWO – Calculate the costs of benefits replacement Some companies reduce or eliminate benefits for part-time employees.  If you wish to continue these benefits you may need to increase your contributions to the company’s plan or go to an outside provider to secure private coverage.   BENEFITS CURRENT COST REPLACEMENT COST       MEDICAL     DENTAL     LIFE INSURANCE     DISABILITY     VISION     TOTAL     The cost to replace my benefits is ____________________  STEP THREE – Calculate the savings created by a reduction in work hours Here comes the fun part - - figuring out how much you can save by working less! How much of a reduction depends on a number of factors including how willing you are to exchange certain luxuries, like having a cleaning lady or eating out three times a week, in order to reduce your expenses.  Be wary of slashing childcare expenses until you have a real handle on exactly how much coverage you’ll need to maintain without having to constantly juggle makeshift arrangements.  Remember, the objective is to simplify your life, not make it more complicated by completely eliminating your support system!  WORK RELATED EXPENSES CURRENT PROPOSED       CHILDCARE     EMPLOYMENT TAXES     COMMUTATION     WARDROBE     DRY CLEANING     EATING MEALS OUT     HOUSEHOLD HELP     OTHER     TOTAL     *  For two career couples, the second income is taxed on top of your spouse’s income, resulting in a higher proportion of your total income being taxed.  This can significantly impact the value of the second income.  My projected work related expenses are______________________ STEP FOUR- Add it up! My projected total income when I go part-time ____________________ MINUS The cost to replace my benefits __________________ MINUS  My projected work related expenses ______________________ EQUALS Net Part-Time Income after expenses   _____________________

Can You Afford to Work Part-Time? (Part Two)

What if you crunched the numbers in the first installment of Can Your Afford to Work Part-Time?, but you remain uncertain that you can afford to take the part-time plunge.  Well, don’t give up yet!  Let’s take a closer look at some ways to increase your income and tighten your expenses while still gaining the flexibility you so badly need: 

1. Increase your income by adjusting (slightly) the total number of hours you work – As much as you’d like to work as few hours as possible, if your expenses are still more than your income, you might want to consider a less drastic reduction in hours.  For example, instead of cutting back to ¾ time, try to see if the numbers are more favorable if you work 4/5 time instead.  Or, you might be able to still work ¾  time in the office, but agree to work one afternoon from home as well.  By working slightly more hours (i.e. 30 hours per week) you might also remain eligible for company reimbursed benefits.

2. Make yourself more valuable at the office – If you’re willing to assume a higher percentage of “value added” job duties you might be able to negotiate for a higher part-time salary.  Seek out tasks that management has identified as being critical to the success and mission of the company. Consider attending some courses to help improve your marketability in the workplace.

3. Track your spending and plug the holes in your budget – Do you really know where your money goes?  Keep a monthly journal of your spending habits and you might be surprised to discover how much money you waste on incidentals, like coffee from Starbucks or mid-afternoon snack breaks. Over the course of the year, those three and four dollar expenditures can really add up.  Some of your “stress related to working” expenses such as take-out food bills, might be reduced when you decide to work part-time. Examine your credit card payments and develop a plan for paying them off so you can save you significant amounts of money in interest costs. Investigate ways to reduce your monthly mortgage payment.  Getting tough on the budget might just allow you to cut back on your hours more than you originally thought possible!

4. Ask yourself, “How long do I plan to work a reduced hour schedule?” It’s possible that you’ll only need to work part-time for a few years and then you’ll be ready to return to work full-time.  If this is a relatively short-term arrangement, living on a reduced income might become a feasible option if you are willing to do some serious financial belt-tightening for a few years.

Finally, if you do all of the above and still can’t see your way clear to cutting back your hours, consider other flextime alternatives such as telecommuting or home-based business options.  Increasing your flexibility and gaining the ability to work from home may be as effective at reducing stress as a reduction in hours, without the financial hardships involved with going part-time.

Tips for Telecommuting

Just beginning a telecommuting arrangement? Here are some suggestions for teleworkers reprinted with permission from Work & Family Connection's e-course, Making Telecommuting Successful: A Guide for Employees, created with telework expert Gil Gordon.

1. Ask for a volunteer “office buddy” to take responsibility for e-mailing you office news weekly, in return for a monthly invitation to lunch.

2. Request weekly feedback from your supervisor for the first few weeks at least, on how the telecommuting arrangement is working.

3. Make calls, send memos, and don’t let people forget you. If there’s a meeting or review planned at which your work will be discussed, be sure you’re invited. Volunteer to make presentations or write reports that make your deliverables more visible.

4. If you suspect you’re falling out of touch, decide who you need to contact to maintain your relationships. It’s up to you to make sure you don’t miss out on anything. Even though you may only be out for one or two days at a time, you may want to check with friends to see what went on.

5. To keep your office colleagues from picturing you sacked out on the couch, reading novels and watching TV, send out e-mail updates of where your projects stand and lists of what you’ve accomplished

6. Be flexible. People won’t always be able to work around your schedule, so you may have to come in on some days you ordinarily work from home.

7. Establish “office hours,” and encourage those in the office to contact you when you're at home. Make sure anyone who might need you knows exactly when they can get you, what to do if they feel it’s urgent, and how long it will be before you return their voicemail or email message.

8. Keep checking out the perceptions of your in- office colleagues. Telecommuters tell of suddenly noticing relationships cooling with no warning, perhaps the result of a perceived slight, a little jealousy on the part of someone who had been wanting to telecommute, or the sense that the telecommuter just didn’t care any more.

9. Know their schedules. Just as your in-office colleagues need to know when and where to contact you, you need to find them when you need them. Ask team members and others to copy you when they work out their weekly schedule.

10. Take credit where credit is due. Your goal isn’t to be seen as a single-handed superstar (even if you are one) but as a contributing member of the department. Make sure you get the credit that’s due you, but no end-runs around your manager. Keep the boss on your side, and don’t alienate him/her.

Looking for a Flexible Schedule?

Tired of working crazy hours?  If you've been thinking about speaking with your employer about scaling back to a more manageable work schedule, be sure to check out the terrific advice, articles and products offered at WorkOptions.com.

Whether you are interested in job-sharing, telecommuting or a part-time schedule, WorkOptions.com has customizable proposal templates to help solve your work-life balance dilemma.  I have recommended these products to my clients for years and they have never failed to disappoint.  Highly recommended.

Time for Telecommuting

Every once in a while I read a blog post that makes me want to jump out of my chair and shout, "Yes!" Such was the case when I stumbled upon Rosabeth Moss Kantor's recent blog entry about telecommuting on the Harvard Business Publishing's site. Here is an excerpt:

"President Obama, here is a deceptively simple action item to put on your agenda for business growth, working families, and a green future: Make it the norm for everyone to work at home at least one day a week. That single step could raise productivity, save energy, decrease pollution, reduce traffic congestion, cut household expenses, increase quality of family life, and keep educated women in the work force. Workers of the world, go remote!

During this time of economic crisis and reinvention of global capitalism, one of the things crying out for reinvention is the rigid workplace of the last century. It is amazing in the digital age that most work is still associated with industrial age work rhythms and the symbolic chains that tie workers, knowledge and otherwise, to fixed locations. Flexible workplaces with flexible hours and days are long in coming."

Yes, yes, yes -- I couldn't agree more!  To read her full post, click here.

Telecommuting Tips

Interested in securing a telecommuting arrangement at your job? Here are four tips to help you successfully prepare to discuss this option with your employer: (excerpted from our instantly downloadable e-guide, FlexJobs: Your Work, Your Life, Your Way! )

1. Investigate Company Policy: Look at the policies and procedures manual for any written telecommuting guidelines. If there are none, make an appointment to speak with the Human Resources department and get their input. Many companies don't have official policies on this issue, so be sure to check with other employees to get a sense of how the "unofficial" policy works.

2. Be Specific About What You Want: Carefully analyze your needs before approaching your boss about a telecommuting arrangement. It's best to come up with a few workable alternatives - your boss will prefer a well-thought out series of options over a "yes or no" ultimatum.

3. Prepare, prepare, prepare: Before meeting with your boss, get your facts in order. Think about your proposal from the company's standpoint and be prepared to explain how your job will still get done when you telecommute. Write a thorough proposal outlining your request , put it away for a few weeks, and then read it again. Anticipate objections your boss might have and practice your responses to those objections.

4. Select a strategically advantageous time for your meeting: While no time is perfect, most managers have periods during the day (or week ) when they are more easily accessible than others. Schedule your meeting for a time when you are least likely to be interrupted -- early mornings or after five o'clock tends to be best for most managers.

Flexible Scheduling: A Benefit Worth Keeping

An analysis of Fortune’s list of America’s 100 Best Companies to Work For conducted by Workforce Management notes an interesting trend: Even the most employee-friendly firms are trimming back benefits. In 2001, for example, 33 companies on the annual list paid 100 percent of employees’ health care premiums. Today, 14 do. Since last year, 27 companies on the list have cut what they pay in health care premiums. And the number of companies on the list offering a defined- benefit pension to new employees has dropped from 40 to 27 in three years.

But at the same time, more companies on the list are adapting inexpensive, employee-friendly ideas--like personal con­cierge services and flexible work policies. In 1999, just 18 companies on the list allowed telecommuting, compared with 79 today. Only 25 firms on the list in 1999 offered compressed workweeks, such as four 10-hour days with Fridays off. Today, 81 companies do. "

Such benefits do make a difference," Fortune writes, "and they’re a lot less expensive than health insurance."

Looking for a Family-Friendly Employer? Think Small!

For years, I've maintained that one of the best ways to find a flexible employer is to target small employers. A recent study (2005 National Study of Employers) conducted by the Families and Work Institute confirmed my observations. The study revealed that small businesses are helping to drive changes in the structure of work, offering employees more opportunities for workplace flexibility, while large employers are providing more benefits that have direct costs.

According to the study, small employers, defined as organizations with 50 to 99 employees, tend to offer their employees greater flexibility, such as flextime, returning to work gradually after childbirth or adoption, taking time off for education or training to improve skills or phasing into retirement. In fact, the study concluded that small employers are significantly more likely to offer flexibility to all or most employees than employers of other sizes.

Why is this true?

Small business owners have discovered that flexible scheduling is a relatively low cost benefit that helps them to recruit and retain top-level talent. While small companies can’t offer the same level of benefit offerings as their corporate counterparts (i.e. health insurance plans, 401k’s, etc.) they can offer more flexibility than their larger competitors.

The hiring manager is typically the owner of the company who can quickly make exceptions to policy and approve alternative scheduling arrangements. In big corporations, exceptions to policy must go through several layers of management (and lots of political maneuvering) to be approved.

Savvy small business owners are bottom-line oriented. They are quick to recognize the tremendous value offered by hiring top-level talent without the overhead of full-time salary and benefit costs.

Here are some tips for finding employment with small businesses:

1. Networking is critical to success. Speak with friends, alumni groups, volunteer contacts and business associates for leads.

2. Call your local Chamber of Commerce or small business advocacy group and ask if they have a membership directory for sale. These types of directories are an excellent tool for sourcing local businesses.

3. The local newspapers often feature stories about “up and coming” businesses. Go to the library and do some research about local companies.

4. Peruse the classifieds to see who is hiring. Even if a company doesn’t have a current opening in your field of expertise, use the information in the ad as a way to learn about small business employers in your area.

5. Contact venture capital firms to see if they are working with any emerging companies who might be interested in hiring you on a flexible basis.

Flexible Jobs for Moms

If you've been running into a brick wall trying to find flexibility in a traditional corporate setting, now may be a good time to transition into a healthcare or educational work environment. With the increased demand for healthcare professionals and teachers, salaries and advancement potential are on the rise.

Please understand that I am not suggesting you go back to school and train to become a nurse, physical therapist or an elementary school teacher just because they are growth fields (unless you are so inclined). However, I do recommend that you look at job openings in hospitals, universities and public/private schools where flexible scheduling tends to be much more widely practiced than in the corporate sector. These institutions need people in management, development, human resources, accounting, finance and other support roles to function efficiently.

While salaries in these settings tend to be lower than in the corporate arena, the benefits packages offered by educational and health institutions can sometimes be quite lucrative. Perks offered by private schools or universities (such as tuition reduction for dependents) can make a real difference in the value of your compensation package.

FYI, some states offer very strong financial incentives for teacher training. According to an August 18, 2006 article in Careerjournal.com, "So far this year, 18 states, including Illinois, Connecticut, Virginia and Kansas, have passed measures encouraging teaching, according to the Education Commission of the States, which tracks education policy for state governments. The initiatives ranged from luring teachers out of retirement to offering scholarships to programs that forgive education loans."