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Sunday is Mother's Day, a time to celebrate with the family. But for working moms, growing responsibilities of the office make finding enough time for the family a constant source of stress. One new study shows that nearly half of working mothers are on the job more than 40 hours a week and a third have to take work home with them. Another study concludes that even getting a little extra time flexibility results in a significant increase in personal satisfaction with work and life. And experts say that if moms aren't getting the flexibility they need, the time is right to ask for it. Here's a look at how moms are coping in the new economy:
For 13 years, Heidi Tauer ran full speed on a career track. "I put in 60- to 80-hour weeks and worked my way up the ladder to management," to become credit manager for a Toronto-area distribution company.
But then she had a son, and two years later a daughter and her priorities shifted significantly. "The more I saw them developing into people, the less I was interested in career and the more interested I was in being there for my kids," who are now 6 and 4, she says. At the same time,, "I've never seen myself as a stay-at-home mom," she says. "I need to balance home life with having a career."
So, she did what an increasing number of moms are doing: start searching for more flexibility to have more time for her family life.
In Ms. Tauer's case it meant jumping out of her high pressure career last November, taking a pay cut and giving up benefits and perks like a pension plan and a company car to take a part-time position as credit representative for G.N. Johnston Equipment Co. Ltd. in Mississauga.
"They keep asking me if I want to go full-time, but I've opted to stay part-time for the advantage to have a day off during the week doing things with the kids," she says. "What I have realized over the last few months since making this career change is that my children are growing up quickly and I if I miss out on it, I can never get it back."
There are great benefits for working mothers who can persuade an employer to give them even a little more control over their working days, according to a new study by Margo Hilbrecht, a post-doctoral fellow at University of Guelph's Centre for Families, Work and Well-Being.
Mothers who have control over starting and leaving times, who can reduce their time in the office or get the flexibility to be away from the office through such things as telecommuting, are not necessarily under less overall stress, but they feel less time pressure and can take more time for themselves, she found based on Statistics Canada studies about quality of life and her own online surveys of working mothers in the hospitality industry.
The study, to be presented May 28 at the Canadian Association for Work and Health Research in Toronto, found women with flexible work arrangements get on average:
21 minutes more sleep a day, 23 minutes more physical activity a day.
At least an hour extra a week with their kids.
And working moms who have the most job flexibility rate themselves as significantly more satisfied with both their work and their life over all, because they feel more in control of their time and have hours of more free time to schedule things that they need to do for their children and their home responsibilities, Ms. Hilbrecht found.
ASK AND YOU CAN RECEIVE
If your work is overwhelming your family life, ask for more flexibility because trends are in your favour for getting relief, advises Diane Domeyer , executive director of staffing service OfficeTeam.
"Even companies that slashed staff in the recession are now looking at ways to attract and retain talented employees needed in the recovery. Employers will be open to proposals for a compressed work week, job sharing or telecommuting if you can give assurances that you will keep up your effectiveness and productivity," Ms. Domeyer says.
And no matter what you schedule, there are things working moms can do to feel less pressured she says. Here are her tips:
Slow down Resist the urge to bring too many projects home over the weekends. Distancing yourself from work-related activities will give you time to recharge so you're more alert and productive when Monday rolls around.
Simplify Eliminate the clutter in your office; an organized work area will save you time sorting through papers and allow you to work more efficiently.
Chart progress Take charge and develop a prioritized list of tasks that must be accomplished each day. Crossing off tasks as they are completed will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Share responsibilities No matter how efficient you are, there is only so much you can accomplish in one day. Make sure that you are delegating appropriately instead of trying to do everything yourself.
THE TOLL OF WORK
The time crunch is growing for working mothers, according to an online survey by job site CareerBuilder.com. A survey of 604 working moms found that:
43 per cent of working moms work more than 40 hours per week.
34 per cent who take work home reported they typically bring work home three days a week or more.
23 per cent bring work home on the weekends.
18 per cent of working moms said they spend two hours or less with their children each workday.
29 per cent reported they missed two or more significant events in their child's life in the past year due to work demands.
67 per cent said there is more stress at home as job demands grow.
PART-TIME OPTIONS
The market for hiring working mothers will be strong for at least the next two years, according to a study by Dallas-based rental office space company Regus PLC.
The international survey, which included about 400 employers in Canada, found that 41 per cent expect to increase part-time hiring of working mothers - representing thousands of new jobs - as the economy recovers, says Barry Weighell, vice-president of Canadian operations for Regus in Toronto. The survey found 50 per cent of companies with between 50 and 250 employees say they will be hiring, compared to less than 40 per cent of companies with fewer than 50 employees.
According to the Regus survey, the best part-time job prospects for working mothers will be in: media and marketing companies, with 51 per cent of companies planning to hire; health care and medicine, 50 per cent hiring; consultancy services, with 49 per cent hiring; banking, finance and insurance, with 46 per cent hiring; retail sales, with 46 per cent hiring; and information and communications technology, with 44 per cent hiring.
FINDING A WAY TO HAVE IT ALL
Elena Doucette, Toronto
Employer: Ernst & Young, 3,700 employees, 1,900 of them women.
Request: Returning to work in 2004 after having her second child, Ms. Doucette knew she would have way too many responsibilities at home to commit to putting in a five-day week in her job as senior manager. She asked for and got a four-day week, at 80 per cent of full-time pay.
Concern: She worried the arrangement might limit her ability to rise in the organization. However, "the firm promised that I would still be able to grow in my career while getting the flexibility I needed for my family," she says.
Result: The promise turned out to be true. She was promoted to partner with the firm while being able to maintain a reduced work week.
The trend: Such career flexibility for working mothers was harder to come by even a few years ago. But "good experiences have made managers feel more comfortable allowing people to take a flexible work arrangement," says Karen Wensley, E & Y's human resources director in Toronto. And promotions like the one Ms. Doucette was able to get "have made employees more comfortable asking for the flexibility they need without worrying that it is going to torpedo their careers," she adds. The number of formal flex-work arrangements at Ernst & Young has increased by 27 per cent since pre-recession days, with 218 mothers on flexible schedules including reduced hours or tele-working.
Caveat: "Flexibility must not only support your people, it also has to fit the organization's needs, so we also expect flexibility from employees in return," Ms. Wensley says. For instance, if there is a big client meeting on a Friday when they would be off, employees are urged to attend and take another time day off instead.
Advice: "It's especially important to stay flexible in tough times like these, when your people need to feel appreciated most," Ms. Wensley says.
MOMS ON THE RISE
The growing participation of women in the work force has been one of the most significant social trends in Canada in the past few decades. Last fall, Statistics Canada reported that women made up more than half of the work force in the first half of 2009, averaging 50.6 per cent of waged or salaried workers.
6.9 million
Number of women employed in Canada; 1.8 million work full-time.
2.4 million
Number of employed women with children under the age of 16.
52
Percentage of mothers in two-career families who say they feel satisfied with their work-life balance.
71
Percentage of fathers in two-career families who feel satisfied with their work-life balance.
20
Percentage of employers who give working mothers a top-up on parental benefits they receive from governments.
Source: Statistics Canada