with Britt Reints
Forget the 9 to 5; Full Time, All the Time is a blog about the mobile working life - when you have the freedom to work from anywhere and the responsibility of always having your smartphone turned on. Britt Reints works as a freelance writer while traveling fulltime in an RV with her husband and two kids. She explores balancing real-life bills with an unconventional work life, and finding time to maintain relationships with family and friends.
You can also find Britt at InPursuitOfHappiness.net.
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The newly released results of the Working America 2008 Ask a Working Woman survey revealed that working women are badly in need of both a raise and a break. Of the over 12,000 online respondents, half said that if they had more time they would work a second job. Furthermore, nearly half stated that they have either no time or less than hour day for themselves.
When asked what would make their life as a working mother substantially easier, over half responded that a 10% raise in their paycheck is just what they need – more than better healthcare, childcare, or pension contributions. Above all, women want a raise. I don’t know about you, but I won’t be holding my breath for a double-digit raise this year. With lay-offs looming in every industry, sometimes it feels that to be working at all is a blessing.
With our nation’s economy spinning out of control, gas prices nearing $5.00 a gallon, the cost of groceries increasing in double-digit percentages, I can totally relate to the respondents. Take into consideration that more women are becoming the bread-winners in their household and the whole thing adds up to an incredibly stressful time for working mothers.
Personally, I would have chosen more time to exercise or sleep. Both seem to be lacking in my daily schedule. I couldn’t imagine working another job in my free-time. But when I think about it, freelance writing has become my second job. While I don’t make enough money in freelance to support my family, the extra income has come in handy to help pay for the basics – like milk, bread and rice. While the economy continues to go down the crapper, I’ll continue to save as much as possible, charge as little as possible, and take my paycheck straight to the bank.
What about you? If you had more free time, would you be working another job? Do you too need more money AND more time for yourself?
This is a great question. Like most moms out there, I’d say more money AND time is the ideal. Failing that, I’ve focused on time and sleep for the sake of my sanity. There is no way I would take on an additional job right now. But I guess it depends on your individual circumstances. What makes me sad is I think many working moms already were feeling the strain in terms of being overworked, tired, and guilt-ridden — and now we have a market downturn and high gas prices on top of it. It’s hard. On the other hand, I think 99% of us can be grateful - as you say - just to have work and the standard of living that we do enjoy. That’s the silver lining, people!
Diane | June 27th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Money and flexibility. I have about 8-10 weeks of time to accomplish family things in the summer, but if something comes up during the school year, I’m screwed. Dentists’ and doctors’ offices don’t understand that I can’t just walk out on my class any time it’s convenient for them.
Daisy | June 30th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I would like more time. My mother worked, so I feel no guilt about being a working mother. I do find that when priorities compete, my interests fall to the bottom of or completely off of the list. For example, before kids, I was a bit of a gym rat. I have always been active and working out just felt good. Now after two kids, I hardly ever work out. If I do, it occurs very early in the morning. As I advance, my job pushes me to do more and more, but I cannot work overtime all of the time. Sometimes, I just want to go out for lunch, have a few martinis and come back days later.
Tee in DC | June 30th, 2008 at 4:45 pm