1 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,480 Speaker 1: This week, we're talking about broad issues related to work 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:20,959 Speaker 1: and how we feel about it. Today's tip is to 5 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: be where the part time solution to work life balance issues. 6 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: Sometimes working part time can be a great choice, but 7 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 1: it's not the perfect option many people seem to think 8 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: it is. Since I've written extensively about work in life, 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: including a book called I Know How She Does It, 10 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:39,639 Speaker 1: which is about how women succeed in big careers while 11 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: raising families, I've long pondered the question of part time work. 12 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: I know it remains an attractive idea. Indeed, various surveys 13 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 1: have found that, depending on how you ask the question, 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: a majority of women with children would prefer to work 15 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: part time. I imagine that these days, a reasonable number 16 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: of fathers might feel the same way. I think out 17 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: of the appeal lies in the semantics. The phrase part 18 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: time makes it seem like the best of both worlds. 19 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: People don't want to imply that work consumes the full 20 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,199 Speaker 1: amount of their time, so they don't want to work 21 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 1: full time. By working part time, we can show that 22 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: work only gets part of Us and Family gets Part two. 23 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: But anyone who listens to this podcast knows the problem 24 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: with this mindset. Full time work consumes nowhere near the 25 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: full amount of people's time. At this point. I suspect 26 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: many listeners can recite after me, there are a hundred 27 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: sixty eight hours in a week. If you work forty hours, 28 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 1: so a standard full time amount, and sleep eight hours 29 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,399 Speaker 1: per night, so fifty six hours per week, that leaves 30 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: seventy two hours for other things. It's hard to see 31 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: what's more balanced about working twenty hours and leaving nine 32 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: two hours for other things. But the bigger issue I've 33 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: found is that in many organizations with salaried positions, there's 34 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 1: no accountability for hours. People working part time schedules can 35 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:03,520 Speaker 1: wind up working fairly similar hours to their colleagues with 36 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: full time schedules. They're just getting paid a lot less. 37 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: This isn't a hypothetical possibility, for I know how she 38 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: does it. I collected time logs representing one thousand and 39 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: one days. In some cases, I collected logs from more 40 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: than one person who at the same company, and at 41 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: least one case I found a woman on a part 42 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 1: time schedule working more hours than a colleague on a 43 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,679 Speaker 1: full time schedule. Broadening this up to look at the 44 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: same industries, this happened more times than I care to count. 45 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: It's hard to know what's going on in any given situation, 46 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: but I think that what happens broadly is that people 47 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: in competitive industries like to talk about their eight or 48 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: work weeks, but they generally aren't logging hours that long, 49 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,800 Speaker 1: or at least not consistently. One study comparing people's estimated 50 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: work weeks with time diaries found that people claiming seventy 51 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: five plus hour work weeks were off by about twenty 52 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: five hours. People in these industries sometimes decide to go 53 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: part time in order to exert some control over their schedules. 54 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: People in these industries sometimes decide to go part time 55 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: in order to exert some control over their schedules, and 56 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: to go part time down from this theoretical number of 57 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: eighty hours a week to say, fifty hours per week. 58 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 1: But if people working full time in these fields are 59 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: actually working fifty five to sixty hours a week, taking 60 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: a fifty percent pay cut and then working fifty hours 61 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: a week is not a great financial move, In particular, 62 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: if there's no accountability for hours then taking a twenty 63 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: percent pay cut and working an eight percent schedule is 64 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: a questionable tactic. In many fields, It's quite possible to 65 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: get the same during the week time off that an 66 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:46,280 Speaker 1: eight percent schedule would enable without actually going to this 67 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: official schedule, or, to be more blunt, lots of people 68 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: waste of their work hours and still get paid for 69 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: this time. I really don't like the idea of only 70 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: some people playing by the rules and bearing the full 71 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: fine financial and career cost. In general, I think that 72 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: people are better off seeking out or negotiating for flexibility 73 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: in full time jobs. If you can work at home 74 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: occasionally and make up hours at night or on the 75 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: weekend if you need to, then it's quite possible to 76 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,720 Speaker 1: work long hours without having any sort of work family conflict. 77 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:21,799 Speaker 1: This is what I try to do. I work about 78 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: forty hours a week, but because I control these hours, 79 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,040 Speaker 1: if I see I have a complicated week of kid 80 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: related stuff coming up, I'll find other spots to work 81 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: those hours. Yes, I work for myself, but I saw 82 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: a lot of similar strategizing on the time logs I 83 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: collected for I know how she does it, believe it 84 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,719 Speaker 1: or not. I saw one person working sixty hours during 85 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: her logged week who was still there for dinner and 86 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: her kids sports practices every day. She just worked a 87 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: few hours every night after they went to bed, and 88 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,600 Speaker 1: did some Saturday work while her partner was in charge. Now, 89 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: there are definitely some jobs where part time truly means 90 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: part time. If you get paid by the hour, then 91 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: a work week means a twenty hour work week. Likewise, 92 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:10,039 Speaker 1: some careers, such as doing medical procedures, are pretty clearly 93 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:12,839 Speaker 1: on or off. Electing to do a three day work 94 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: week will in fact mean you work two days less. 95 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: If you'd prefer to do other things on those days 96 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:20,919 Speaker 1: and you can afford the pay cut, then this is 97 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,119 Speaker 1: really just a question of how you choose to spend 98 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,040 Speaker 1: your time. But I do think there's something to be 99 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:28,839 Speaker 1: said for choosing work that's exciting enough that you want 100 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: to work full time. Yes, the financial payoffs are good, 101 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: but even more so, challenging meaningful work can be a 102 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:39,599 Speaker 1: source of great joy. If that work is flexible enough 103 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: to allow for a full family life too, then that 104 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,760 Speaker 1: really is the best of both worlds. In the meantime, 105 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making 106 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:57,839 Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to 107 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 108 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook 109 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, 110 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me 111 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot 112 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,240 Speaker 1: com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 113 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch. 114 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:32,840 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For 115 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart 116 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 117 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:40,159 Speaker 1: favorite shows.