Of course we know the part-time trap and often rush between children, job and household. But it also has advantages not to spend 40 hours in the office …
For everyone who wants to scream now that we have no idea here: The author of this article is a part-time mother who knows exactly how unsatisfactory the balancing act between child and job can be. We do not want to talk about salaries that do not shrink even slightly with fewer hours. Nevertheless, she often finds it very, very good not to work 40 hours. For the following reasons:
1. It's nice weather – and you can come out! This doesn't apply to part-time landscape gardeners or educators, but to practically everyone else. Maybe you even have to get out because the little ones are forcing you. In any case, you do not sit in a semi-dark room in front of your computer for five full days. This pleases your vitamin D storage and your blood circulation – and in the end also your psyche. And that's even true if you hate playgrounds.
2nd You go when you have to go! Because there is often someone waiting for you who is the real boss – your offspring. In the past, you sometimes worked (not necessarily paid) overtime, but today it simply doesn't work. And that's a good thing in many cases. Everything else only gets you into the part-time trap – which of course you shouldn't fall into. That is a prerequisite for a happy part-time life. Yeah, we know it's not that easy …
3rd You concentrate on the most important thing. There are numerous studies showing that people who work part-time are much more productive than those who spend ten hours in the office every day. This is because they have to prioritize and do so. Will it end up being less? Query: Who is more effective – a flexible and motivated sprinter or a slow and annoyed marathon runner?
4th It is varied. Just mother or just job? Most part-time workers can no longer imagine this. In the end, switching between the two worlds is often stressful, of course, but it can also be relaxing. After five hours of conferences and concentrated work at the desk, playing with the kids can be really fun now and then, right?
5. Part time is the future! There are more and more companies that reduce hours for their employees because it becomes clear that nobody has to sit in the office for eight hours to be really productive. Perhaps part-time employment with the same salary in ten years is no longer what 99 percent of women / mothers do because there is simply no other way (and they have to earn less and therefore have to reduce it anyway), but is a completely normal model for all people – beyond family situation and gender.