Combining work and family

Is working as a soloist a solution to returning-to-work mothers? Self-employment offers flexibility, work-life balance and a chance to excel in your chosen career. However when combining work and family you need to think through all the issues.

With an uncertain economic outlook, volatile stock markets and rising interest rates, more primary carers, particularly mothers, are feeling the pressure to return to work. Whether you have to work, or want to work, combining work and family is a juggling act that causes stress and frustration.

Returning to work is fraught with emotions. Many feel guilty leaving upset children at day care or school. Pressure is also heaped on from employers to provide a high quality work output. Children often get sick when they’re introduced to a child care environment. The newly returned-to-work mother has to take time off to care for them, then often must succumb to yet more pressure from employers.

Back at home, women still do the majority of housework and cooking. Statistics show that even when two parents are working, 70% of housework is done by the woman.

Finally, the cost of child care eats such a large chunk of the mother’s earnings that they question why the returned to work in the first place.

As a result, one opportunity for combining work and family that many mothers consider is the self-employed (solo) option.

There are many pluses for women in the solo world. As your own boss, you can work your hours around your life: school/day care hours or even naps, weekends and evenings. The hours are yours to choose. Therefore you can work your career around your lifestyle and find an economic and emotional equilibrium - the very definition of ‘lifestyle balance’.

The 2004 work-life balance survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that an estimated 378,700 of all ‘carers’ were self employed. Ten per cent of these carers chose the solo route to make it easier for them to care for another person. Females were more likely than males to become self employed based on this reason (18% compared to 6%).

A recent study in Canada found that many women are choosing to work as soloists. According to Statistics Canada, self-employed women own almost half of all small and medium-sized enterprises, and start-up rates for women-owned businesses are twice those for men. The reason stated by the survey’s respondents was primarily to allow them to work and care for their families.

But it’s also worth considering the side effects of owning your own business. Your financial situation is less dependable than the reliable paycheck of an employer. There are no compulsory payments being made to your superannuation. Self-employed women tend to fall outside the social safety net. Their economic autonomy is risked by the lack of access to superannuation and any benefits such as paid maternity leave.

Another important concern is managing your working hours after your business takes off. In reality, working for yourself can increase the pressure to put in longer hours. Think about it: you are now answering to your own clients, rather than an employer. If you disappoint your client, you are taking a risk with your financial future.

In 2004, according to the ABS 34% of self employed people work between 50 and 60 hours a week and 28% work more than 60 hours per week.

These negative aspects aren’t there to talk you out of a solo career. They’re more there as a reminder that the grass might not always grow greener on the other side, but at least it’s your own grass to grow!

With careful planning and consideration, combining work and family is possible. Women soloists of today can continue a rewarding career while enjoying the experience of motherhood at the same time.

Michele Hackshall is a copywriter and technical writer with over 12 years’ experience writing marketing material for some of Australia’s most prominent brands. She’s written everything from postcards to books.

6 comments | Add your own

Great article Michelle. With growing talk of the introduction of paid maternity leave, soloists mothers need to ensure we are heard, otherwise we may miss out on the benefits of paid maternity leave, and end up paying for others to enjoy it. f.y.i if you qualify Canadian mums enjoy around 8 months governmnet paid maternity leave. Heather Smith from Brisbane
This was a great read Michelle. Many thanks. I work around my 2.5 yo daughter and 9 mth old son. It's a daily juggling act. Unbelievably the biggest difference to my sanity in the past week has been installing a dishwasher (can't believe how much time it's saving me...plus less stress because must admit to being a tad over anxious about having a tidy kitchen!) and joining two friends for an aerobics class. Some time out...gotta love it! Kristy Hitchens from Binningup, Australia
In any start-up venture, working and intellectual capital are essential. The more study and preparation, the more likely success. Of course, once you've started, focus, hard work and efficiency become the imperatives. This applies regardless of whether you have a partner in full-time employment or not, children or not - children are a fact of many soloist's lives. If you feel that they are a burden then please consider starting a local group for stay-at-home, working parents which may yield some great results! Grant Hyman from Sydney
Great article. I started flying solo purely to provide a supplementary income without returning to work. I couldn't face putting my children into day care (emotionally or financially). But it is hard. With 3 children under the age of 4, a full-time business at home, life gets complicated. Many clients are turned off by the sound of children in the background (you cannot provide a good service and raise children at the same time apparently), but some love it and have become true friends. Some clients come to me because I am a full-time mum. The majority of clients do not ring when they think it is dinnertime or bathtime, but they compensate for that by phoning on weekends, particularly, Sundays when they think either the kids are in bed or my husband is around to look after them. But in the long-run it will be worth it. It is a struggle now and I am constantly tired and run down, but I am there for every cut and scrap that needs a bandaid, I get to wear beatiful hand picked flowers (usually weeds) in my hair to work, I get to work in the backyard whilst painting and playing play-doh. I talk on the phone whilst sliding down a slppery dip or pushing a swing. I can send emails whilst making cakes. I don't earn the salary that I used to earn and I work longer hours then what I used to do, but my kids have a full-time mum who doesn't have the added stress that many families have of wondering how this week's food bill will be paid. Bernadette Coppock from Engadine
I'm already finding that working as a soloist is great even before you have kids - 6 months into my first pregnancy and I really appreciate being able to fit various doctors appointments, 'off days' and baby shopping sprees into my working week. Strangely enough, my productivity hasn't really suffered either! And I know that it's going to work really well after the first six months or so of training (the baby training me, that is) are over to slip back into part time working from home. Plenty of clients have already been positive about working around my 'new schedule' once I get back into gear. Best of all worlds (and great to hear it working so well for other women) - and I may still get that baby bonus to help out with covering my self-funded maternity leave! Chris - Black Ink Writing & Consulting from Melbourne
Love your article Michelle. I became a soloist for exactly the same reason and I use a combination of child care, family members and working around sleeps to make my business work for our situation. I don't miss the office politics or having to negotiate time off with a boss - I just grab my BlackBerry and head off to the baby clinic, swimming, mother's group or a business meeting! Johanna Baker-Dowdell www.strawberrycommunications.com.au from Wamberal, NSW

6 comments | Add your own

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