Flexibility or Fulfilment?

[samy23]

If you had to choose between 2 jobs which payed the same, had the same commute time etc...but the difference was one you would enjoy a lot more and find more rewarding etc, but the other although you would enjoy also -wouldn't be as enjoyable as the first job, yet it would give you more flexibility in the way of working hours.

So for example the first job would be 12 hour shifts and the second job would be 7 hour shifts, the second one gives you a lot more flexibility time wise with your family/kids.

Which job would you choose?

[GuildJenn]

Well it's very personal.

First, it depends on the ages and stages of the kids. Kids are young for a relatively short time, so I wouldn't pick a lifetime career based on that necessarily, but it might also be a time I would choose a job that was less exciting but better for the family.

However I'd also look at the long-term factors: potential for advancement etc.

For me there are a lot of factors that go into a job - in some ways, it can be easier to find childcare for more traditional 9-5 work and there's a quality-of-life factor in terms of having the same or similar hours to my family and friends.

As far as fulfillment goes, it really depends on the big picture too. If I were sole support for my family I would concentrate on making more money, but because both my husband and I work I have been able to stick to a more fulfilling but less well paying field.

[kcparker]

I would pick the one that gave me the most time with my family, unless it was something like the difference between working in a slaughterhouse with flex-time and working my dream job. Honestly, I get a lot more fulfillment from making pancakes or drawing pictures with my son than I do from my job, and I certainly know which one we will both remember more fondly in 20 or 50 years...

[Teenytoona]

Originally Posted by samy23

If you had to choose between 2 jobs which payed the same, had the same commute time etc...but the difference was one you would enjoy a lot more and find more rewarding etc, but the other although you would enjoy also -wouldn't be as enjoyable as the first job, yet it would give you more flexibility in the way of working hours.

So for example the first job would be 12 hour shifts and the second job would be 7 hour shifts, the second one gives you a lot more flexibility time wise with your family/kids.

Which job would you choose?

So the 12 hour job, is it 3 days a week? Because that's some nice flexibility. THe 7 hour job, is that 5-6 days a week?

I might consider the 12 hour because heck, I'd get 4 days off (theoretically) a week. Though flexibility in the day to day like the 7 hour job is certainly a nice perk.

[rcr]

Originally Posted by kcparker

I would pick the one that gave me the most time with my family, unless it was something like the difference between working in a slaughterhouse with flex-time and working my dream job. Honestly, I get a lot more fulfillment from making pancakes or drawing pictures with my son than I do from my job, and I certainly know which one we will both remember more fondly in 20 or 50 years...

Yea, I kinda agree. I would rather have flexibility - if that means I would be able to spend more time with DS. Unless it is my dream job or something... or the flexible job is really horrible.

[Alyantavid]

Flexibility.

That's where I'm at right now. But it works because I need to be able to leave when I need to and work odd hours if I need to because of my kids.

[HappyMommy2]

flexibility

[caenach]

Where I am right now? Flexibility.

[gothnurse3]

Fulfillment. Life is short...if you do something you LOVE you will never work a day in your life. 12 hour shifts are very rough...you spend at least the first day off just recuperating and the day before you go back you spend "setting up" for the days you will not be available. That's if you are lucky enough to have your 4 days off all in a row. I worked 12 hour shifts for over a decade...I speak from experience. Good luck to you.

[anjelika]

Flexibility!!!

[Rowansmama]

I would go for flexibility any day! I figure there's plenty of time for fulfillment once the crazy years of having small children pass.

[kirstenb]

Flexibility. Right now it's more important to have time to spend with my kids. Down the road, it may be different.

[alicia622]

At this time in my life, I go for flexibility! My current job, while not my favorite in terms of personal satisfaction, allows me lots of flexibility- I can schedule work around my life and don't have an expectation to be working 9-5, Sometimes I work 13 hour days and other days I work 3 hours. As long as it gets done- it's all good. When DS is older I might put job satisfaction ahead of flexibility but for now, this is the right thing for me/us.

[annethcz]

Right now, flexibility is important. My kids are all in school, but it's nice to have a job that works with my kids' schedule.

[PiePie]

flexibility, at least for now. i was in a similar boat when i returned to teh paid workforce when my daughter was 7 mos. old -- in my case the difference between the 2 jobs was not shifts but travel and expectations re availability to work during my personal time, and i went with the less exciting job that let me be the mommy i want to be. i am not saying i love every minute of my job (but would i have loved every minute of the other job? not likely!) but i do love my time with dd. career-wise, this is a treading water time of my life.

[Elecampane]

With a three year old and one on the way, for me it's flexibility all the way. I might feel differently in five or six years.

[Sorin]

As a person who once had a job that was flexible but not fulfilling, I choose fulfillment. Having a job that you do not like (even if it is flexible) can eat away at your soul. I work harder and longer now, but I love my job and do not see it as a burden. Life is too short to be spent doing something that feels like drudgery.

[ALittleBitCrunchy]

If the flexibility means a trade off where I'd be rather indifferent about the job, I'd take the flexibility.

If the flexibility means a trade off where I'd be in a job the sucks the joy out of my soul, I'd take the fulfillment.

To be unfulfilled is fine...to be miserable is not

[Sol_y_Paz]

Flex. But for some that may mean working three straight then the rest of the week off. The ability to set my own schedule, flexibility, remains high on the list of priorities. Glad you have choices to choose between!!

[meemee]

depends...

on your personality.

which one is your priority.

and which one would suck your soul - if they did. if it could be a soul sucking job, but flexibility then i would definitetly NOT choose flexibility. when dd was around from 2 to 3 1/2 i had a soul sucking job i was stuck in. dd suffered because mommy was so down even though she had flexibility and time for dd, but the time i came home i had nothing much to give.

till she was 6 my dd was my biggest priority.

so i chose flexibility then.

from 6 onwards when i noticed she didnt need one on one with me that much anymore, school became my priority. today i am there but also busy doing hw. but everything works really well for us.