Quit or Work Overtime?

[justKate]

I'm in sort of a dilemma as far as my job goes. I've posted some about it here in the Stay At Home Parenting forum.

My Huz is military, and we've just moved to Austin, TX for him to attend grad school for the next two years. I'm a lawyer with a 9 month old and 100k + in student loan debt (see link above re. financials). I work 37.5 hours weekly (no more, no less) and send DD to a great daycare. The problem is, after six months of employment (coming up at the end of the year) I am supposed to go on mandatory overtime. This would mean another hour of work each day and a longer commute because it would be in rush hour. I would barely make it home in time to get DD before the DC closed, and she would basically be there from 7:00 a.m. until 6 p.m. Asking Huz to do more childcare is not a viable option because of dependability and scheduling issues. I would have about two hours, max, a day to spend with my daughter. Being a SAH is not really an option, financially, and I don't think Huz would be open to it anyway.

I DO NOT want to work overtime, but I do need a job. And yes, it is legal for them to require overtime. I work for the certain governmental body charged with enforcing such employment issues, IFKWIM. I'm not licensed in TX because we're only going to be here for another year and a half, and I don't think it would be worth the investment. What are my options?! This is making me sick at night. Right now I pump once during my 1/2 hour lunch, but I think if I were here longer I would have to pump twice, which would make my day even longer.... Ugh.

What would you do? I put the best options I could come up with in the poll.

[smpayne]

Try to work it out with work and dh - maybe less hours on certain days and more hours 2-3 days a week. Possibly start work earlier so you can make it home before dc closes. Is there a day care closer to your work?

I always had to pump at least twice between 9-4. Time the smokers and how long thier breaks are. You probably can get a full pumping session that equalls 2 smoking breaks (usally these are paid breaks and not deducted from thier time worked).

[marilynmama]

Is the OT gonna be daily from here on out, or is it just temporary?? To me that would make a difference. I didn't vote in the poll.

To me if the OT was just temporary I'd stick it out especially if its a job you like overall, if its going to be permanent and your going to be miserable (can't blame you) I would start looking for another job.

I know for me mandatory OT would be a deal breaker, my family comes first, but I also know I have to work (my dh is a full time student as well). I wouldn't use breastfeeding or childcare as an excuse though personally--especially if you stay on where your at (if I was leaving I would care...lol).

I always keep my eye out on the job market in my field. It doesn't hurt for you to at the very least *look* at other jobs...do a lot of jobs in your field require OT. I like to know what my options are because you just never know.

[bluebunny]

I would work the overtime and hope it is temporary. Any possibility of doing work from home? Could your DH do drop-off at daycare and you go in earlier? I've worked for a government agency (I'm assuming you are federal) and we were allowed to start work at 7:00 a.m. Could you do that? Are there any other federal jobs that you could look into? (SSA -- Appeals, possibly?)


As much as an extra hour sucks, working for the government is decent money and great benefits. I would hate to have to find something comparable in this economy. Firm jobs are hard to come by (or so I hear) and would probably have even more unreasonable demands. GL!

[notjustmamie]

I didn't vote because I honestly can't say what I would do in this situation. I wanted to share some thoughts I had, though.

It sounds like this is required for every day an extra hour. Would it be possible to arrange it so you worked 2-3 hours extra 1-2 days per week? Or came in over the weekend for 5 hours? Or worked extra hours from home (when DD is asleep)? Are there any other ways that you might be able to flex your time to work different hours? Could you make arrangements for DH (or a friend/neighbor) to get DD to daycare in the AM and go in earlier to work the extra hour(s)?

[CarrieMF]

If you aren't liscenced how long would it take you to get another job?

You accepted this job knowing this was a requirement. Your only options are to quit or deal with it. Financially until you get another job you're most likely going to have to find a way to make it work.

[LorenaAZ]

wow. I can't believe so many Moms say to suck it up. I wouldn't be able to do it....seeing my daughter 2 hrs a day sounds crazy to me. They grow so fast at this age!

[Carita]

can you ask to do overtime from home or on a saturday or during lunch hour? lately my dh has found that an extra hr in the AM actually is less commute time because its so early. Could you put in the extra hr in the morning?

I would try to approach someone and ask them if they will be flexible on how your overtime is done. Go ahead an say that you have childcare things to work out, but I don't think you can get out of it completely. If you are unhappy with the situation, I would start looking around at other options, but I wouldn't quit unless you had something else in hand.

[~pi]

Originally Posted by LorenaAZ

wow. I can't believe so many Moms say to suck it up. I wouldn't be able to do it....seeing my daughter 2 hrs a day sounds crazy to me. They grow so fast at this age!

I voted 'suck it up' because:

1. She said they need the money. Eating is kind of non-optional IMHO.

2. It's temporary. She said 1.5 years until they leave the state.

3. You can do a heck of a lot in 2 hours, especially if you know that's all the time you have.

4. As the child grows older, her bedtime will move back, so there will be more and more time.

5. I would actually gently question the time estimate -- sometimes we only count the time we're playing and interacting with our children, but IMHO, sleeping together (if you co-sleep), walking or driving to daycare, getting dressed together, etc. are all part of daily life. That counts as being together.

OP, I think looking for another job is fine, too, but as pps said, I wouldn't personally quit until you have another offer in hand.

Like pps, I would see if there are other arrangements that you can make. Can you work some hours at home? Can you load all the extra hours onto one or two days? Can you shift your hours to minimize your commute?

Also: Can you move? 37.5/week + half hour lunch = 8 hours per day. Add one hour = 9 hours. 7am-6pm = 11 hours a day. So I'm guessing you're anticipating 2 hours of commuting time a day. That's a huge chunk of prime time you could be with your daughter. IMHO, *that's* the place to look for some found time. I know it's a massive pain to move, find new daycare, etc., but imagine how much easier things would be if you only had 30 minutes of commuting time each day. It might be worth it.

[Skippy918]

Are you going to be getting paid extra for this overtime or are you exempt so your salary is staying the same whether you work 37 hours or 45 hours?

I know how you feel. Before I skewed my schedule, I was only seeing DS for about an hour in the evening. He goes to bed at 7. Now, although I only see him 2 hours in the evening, the quality of time is better. I leave before he wakes up. We play, go for a walk, have dinner as a family, then it's bath and bed.

I think you need to ask DH if he could arrange his schedule so you can split the drop off/pick up. For example if he does drop off, you could go in early and leave early. See if you can change your hours from 6-3. Talk to your manager and explain that you have to leave by a certain time otherwise you pay fees out the wazoo for late pickup.

I live in the Austin area also. Depending on where you are, there are plenty of alternate routes with less traffic. I've found lots considering I live north and work south. As long as you avoid Mopac/I-35 and portions of 183 during rush hour, you will shave a lot of time off your commute. The toll roads (although $$$) help avoid a lot of delays as well.

Hope this helps.

[plunky]

Originally Posted by LorenaAZ

wow. I can't believe so many Moms say to suck it up. I wouldn't be able to do it....seeing my daughter 2 hrs a day sounds crazy to me. They grow so fast at this age!

Not a mom, but I voted for the two options that are currently winning: suck it up and look for a new job. If the OP has $100k in student debt, she needs to be working, IMO, preferably in the area she got that degree in. I would get licensed in Texas also. It might be hard, but at least you can get experience in your field that will be an investment into better jobs in the future.

It sucks that her husband can't help with the daycare stuff though. I'd try to get him to handle at least either drop off or pickup.

[justKate]

Thanks for all of the responses. I agree with what everyone has said--I need to be working and finding ways to make it work.

The OT would be 1 hour extra daily, and it is paid. I'm going to look in to getting licensed here so that I can have that as an option. Weekend work isn't an option but I hadn't thought of trying to load the extra hours on to two days instead of 1 hour each day. There is also a remote possibility that I could work from home down the road if an at-home spot opens up.

Huz and I had a long talk about it and he seems open to taking DD in the morning, so I could potentially start at 7 and work until 4:30 and get the OT hour in....

Skippy918, I live near the intersection of the 130 and 45 toll roads on the edge of P-ville / Manville. I take 130 south to 290 W, then 35 S to 13th & Guadalupe. It takes about 40 min if I leave at 7, but would probably be shorter if I left earlier.

[Skippy918]

justkate-I'm glad that you were able to work things out with your hubby as far as drop off. Traffic will be much lighter if you leave before 6:30 versus 7. Good luck with getting your license.

[MacKinnon]

I'm glad it looks like you've figured out an option. I just want to chime in that having help with the child care arrangments makes things alot easier. It's amazing how much a little extra time can help! I went from .65 time to full time (and often a fair amount of OT) this spring, April through August. It was temporary, but the biggest thing that had to change was me doing all the child care drop off and pick ups. Once DH started helping out some, it was much more doable. He also does one or two extra late nights a month for me, so I can have some quiet time when no one else is in the office to catch up, as I work though my lunch so that I can work 8:40 to 4:40 to make our day care arrangements work out.