r/workingmumsau

I am a qualified chef with 17 years experience working in tourism, primary industries (fishing and beef) and hospitality. I am 4 weeks into an accounting and bookkeeping TAFE course. Looking for working from home options to earn some money until I get qualified. Any ideas?

I’m a new mum who has recently returned to a corporate role after parental leave and I’m curious whether other women have experienced something similar.

Returning has already been a pretty huge adjustment. While I was away there was a restructure, my role changed, I came back into a different team and under new management all the fairly typical corporate fun that can happen while you’re on parental leave
What I wasn’t expecting was how difficult the actual return would be made by my manager, particularly because she is also a mother although her children are older (11-14)

My flexible working request became a negotiation rather than something I felt supported through. I originally asked to return three days a week and that wasn’t supported, so I had to negotiate an arrangement that has me increasing my days sooner than I wanted. Since returning, I’ve generally felt there has been very little understanding or empathy around the realities of coming back to a demanding corporate job with a young child.

I think part of what has surprised me is that I assumed perhaps naively that having a female manager who had also had children would mean there would be more understanding of that transition.

Instead, I’ve felt the opposite. There’s a bit of a “well I did it” energy to it, rather than “I remember how hard this stage is, how can we make this work”

It has made me wonder whether this is actually a relatively common experience.

For those who have returned to corporate roles after having children did you find female managers who were mothers themselves more supportive, less supportive, or did it make absolutely no difference?

And particularly if their kids were older did you ever feel there was a disconnect between what returning to work with a baby or toddler is actually like now versus what they remembered from their own experience?

I’m genuinely interested in hearing other women’s experiences because this has been one of the most challenging parts of returning to work for me.

Hi everyone, I went back to work at 18 months with my first and we were down to 3 feeds by then so just nursed morning, after work and at bedtime. I'm back at work now with a 12 month old and not sure how long I expect to pump at work for and continue to send in breastmilk. Just wondering what this timeline has looked like for others?

I will be heading back to work after maternity leave and idk how I’m going to mentally do it! How do you let other people just take care of your kiddo (I mean I understand some need to go back to work for the paycheck). But tell me how does one emotionally cope? I am struggling with the idea of going back to work but also I need to work. Or I need to find a job that I can do part time or remote (currently an educator). Also if you bring your kiddo to daycare like what time do you wake them
Up? What time do you put them to bed? Any tips for an emotional mom?

Long story short, I returned from Mat leave this Feb and my current workplace is chaos and the culture became really toxic. My work is in community service so we are on fixed term contract with the government - this has always been renewed since birth of org in 1990s. Anyway, due to chaos and current political climate, not sure if the whole company contract will be renewed next year. I currently work around 30hours a week (0.8FTE) and have commute around 40mins-1hr each way. There's toll cost and petrol of course. And it's only 1 day WFH.

I recently phone interviewed for a role in another non-profit but it's a permanent full time position. The work culture is great (according to Seek and Glassdoor and a friend who works there but in different department). The commute is 10mins each way and its 3 days WFH.

I'm having trouble deciding whether to go ahead with the second round as the pay for the new role is $9 less per hour and of course the hours will be full time (38hrs) - they said they couldn't consider part time or higher pay during phone interview.

But, I'm feeling really disconnected from my current work and just wanna gtfo. Am I being too reactive especially considering the current job market?? This is my 15th job application and so far I've only had interview for this and any earlier application.

Those who decided between similar options: did you regret or happy with your decision looking back? I'm also keen to hear from parents especially - I really enjoy my one day off with my son.

Thank you!

EDIT #1: Thank you to all the wondering comments and insights - yes I'm feeling burnt out in this role and its no good for anyone. my gut told me to just go for it so I tentatively scheduled the second round right after my phone interview. Tomorrow is the 2nd interview so crossing my fingers and toes that it'd go well!

I’m currently on maternity leave and hoping to return to work soon, but I’m feeling quite nervous about how I’m going to juggle working while also taking care of my baby.
I’m a single mum and live alone. When I return to work, my mum will be looking after my baby, but she also works part-time, so I’m trying to figure out how other mums in a similar situation manage the day-to-day practicalities of work, childcare and everything else that comes with being a mum.
I’m also exclusively breastfeeding at the moment, which makes the thought of returning to work even more daunting. I worry about how my baby will cope being away from me and how I’ll manage breastfeeding/pumping alongside work.
If you’re a single Muslim working mum who lives alone, I’d really appreciate hearing how you make it work. How did you manage the transition back to work? What did you do about childcare and breastfeeding? Any practical tips, advice or reassurance would mean a lot. 💕

They are 4 and 6. After years of casual work, I’ve been offered a full time role - 2x12hr day then 2x12hr night - 5 days off. Rotating roster including weekends and public holidays

Would you do it?

I really just don't even know what im looking for in writing this. My husband(36) and I(32) are making moves and planning for me to come home with the kids. He's about to move up in his job, dependant on a certification passing, and we believe this will be the best for us because currently daycare costs go up every year and I drive an hour 1 way with the kids to my job where the daycare is. Im getting so nervous though for the transition, ive literally been working since I was 12 in some capacity and im just afraid of change in general.

Ive talked about our plan to some people and have been getting judgy-opposing vibes. My mom in particular keeps giving off the "how dare you think about not working" vibes, which I assumed I would get cause shes not a very supportive person in general and gets very caught up in public appearances and titles. One of my closest friends is worried about not having 2 incomes. Others have kind of just given "you gotta do what you gotta do" and "you do you".

Our reasons are plentiful, my daughter (toddler) possibly has autism(getting an evaluation soon) and is struggling with some behaviors, speech is improving but still lagging, and potty training. Im so whipped by the time we get home that I dont have the energy to be consistent with training and we are basically in a race for dinner and bedtime. Obviously we also spend so much time in the car which takes a toll on me and both of my littles. Another reason is that eventually we would have to figure out arrangements for getting our daughter to school cause its walking distance to our house but we dont have family that we could really rely on to come over before we have to leave for work and get our daughter, and eventually our younger son, up and ready then to school then pick them up later. So I feel like I eventually would have had to come home and stop working anyway. I work in Healthcare, so flexibility of schedule is already a problem. Even places that advertise flexibility with hours and "helping with a work-life balance" never actually mean it in my experience. Lastly, I am miserable at my workplace. I have a few work friends but the environment and management are so incompetent and toxic that I have trouble not bringing that home. Im also having trouble with the FMLAs for taking care of my kiddos when theyre sick and have almost literally 0 pto since they always manage to get sick back to back and right after I finally accrue some. Not to mention all the speech appointments and other appointments.

My husband is also a swaying tree with this decision, he keeps getting stuck on my student loans not having been paid off and not working in my field, then hes full force supportive and again then he starts worrying about our finances. Which I think is a fair worry, especially for him since he is the first person in his family to really get out of the poverty line.

I just feel like I need some support and encouragement that it will be okay, from people who have been there and are there.

Sorry if this got confusing and stuff, writing in spurts while at work.

How do mums, especially single mums with no help manage to actually keep a job?

I’m on my own, I have a great job and my kids are relentlessly sick.. I’ve had to have 5 days off in the last 3 weeks.. I speak to their dad and couldn’t care as long as he can go to work and earn his money - which obviously we have nothing to do with.
I’m going to loose my job having to keep doing this, and I absolutely want and need to go to work!!

I currently work 4 days a week in a technical role which I enjoy. I have a young family, and the 4 day week suits us well. Financially we are not rich, but we are comfortable enough.

A promotion opportunity has come up which would move me more into management. The pay rise is nice but not massive. They have made it clear that it is only available full time although open to flexible working patterns.

I cant decide whether to go for it - my youngest is about to start school so technically we could make it work. I was very much looking forwards to having a day to myself though after many years of no time! The role itself doesn't excite me that much, but I accept that its the sort of move I would need to make if I wanted to progress in my field.

Any thoughts appreciated!

Hi everyone!

I have just found out that I am pregnant and am already dreading going back to fifo after 4.5months maternity leave given by my company.

They do have the option to extend it up to 12 months with no pay but I don’t believe we can financially handle that at the moment since I am the bread winner and we are also about to have a mortgage.

Can anyone (mums especially but dads can chime in too) tell me their stories of going back to work quickly after leave and how it went.

EDIT: just editing to add that my partner does work but does not earn as much as I do.

I’ve got 3 kids and my oldest is in kinder at a daycare centre. Unfortunately the centre doesn’t have spots on one of the days I need for my younger two. But I only need this extra day for 8 weeks. I have found another centre we like and they have the spots available for them. I was going to move them to this centre for all 3 of their days but we really like our current centre, and we know that in the new year we can get the days we require.
I essentially need to decide whether to drop a uni subject (the day I need is for one of my uni days - I work and study), or just put them in a new centre until the semester is over In 8 weeks.
I can even pick them up quite early as I am home by 1pm on this day.

My question is has anyone put their child into 2 different daycares due to needing extra days that your original centre didn’t have available? I have heard of putting kinder age kids in sessional kinder and long day care but my younger two are nearly 3 and 15 months so they are a bit younger.

I currently work 3 days a week and have a 3 year old and newly 1 year old. I need to return to work fulltime soon from a financial perspective but I am so worried about how I will cope with juggling everything and fit everything into the week. How do you fit in work, looking after 2 kids, cooking, cleaning, family time, and alone time for yourself, without having a nervous breakdown?? Looking for practical tips and any reflections on things that have helped make your life easier as a fulltime working mum please.

I leave for work by 8 am and come back completely tired. By then I have no energy left for bathroom cleaning, dusting, or mopping. Weekends become full cleaning days instead of rest days. How do working people manage this?

Returning from mat leave - I have been back a few months and I can no longer keep up with full time. Has anyone requested 3 days and been rejected? I should have requested 3 days from the get go.

Hi Mums,
In a tale as old as time I am about to return from maternity leave only to be told that my senior leadership role has been restructured (a new executive has taken over) and I’m essentially now demoted to another layer down in the organization. It’s shitty but I want to optimize the situation for all it’s worth.

A few things I’d like advice on:

1. If you were in this situation, would you ask to come back and work fewer days? For example, three days a week. If you took less days, did you choose to send your child to daycare on two/three consecutive days or split up week?

2. In this situation, did you force them to give you a functional redundancy? How did you go about this?

3. Or, would you just put your head down and cruise until a second maternity leave? I would like to have a second child couple of years.

The things I’m not looking forward to I return is navigating my direct reports (several managers and their teams) and how anxious they are feeling about the change. I’ve basically had my wings clipped and all the interesting parts of my role have now been taken away.… I’ll be a glorified meeting attendee without any real delegated authority and no updated PD (yet). I know this ain’t a unique situation to me and I’m hoping to make the best of it.

Thanks in advance for your advice or tips 🫶

Looking for some perspective from other parents because I’ve been going back and forth on this.
My 3-year-old was accepted into a preschool/daycare program that we’d really like her to attend. She’ll be enrolled in the full-day program, and we’ll be paying full-day tuition because they’ll be holding her spot all day.

The part I’m struggling with is that they only want her to attend until 11:30 at first, so she’d be there for about 3 hours instead of the full 7-hour day. I asked what the transition to full days typically looks like, and they said it depends on how she does. They said they hope she’ll be ready for full days by the beginning of next year, but that was just a guess and there’s no set timeline.

I’m trying to coordinate returning to work, speech therapy, and afternoon childcare, so the uncertainty is making me nervous. If this is a few weeks, I can absolutely make it work. If it’s potentially several months, that’s a much bigger commitment—especially since we’d still be paying for the full-day spot.

I also tend to be someone who hates inconveniencing people or making things difficult, so I keep wondering if I’m making this more difficult than it needs to be. At the same time, this would be a significant adjustment for our family, and I’m trying to be realistic about whether we can make it work.

I’m not upset with the school, and I understand they’re trying to do what’s best for her. I’m just wondering:

Is this a common transition policy?
Have any of you had a child start on half days and gradually work up to full days?
How long did it actually take?
Would this timeline give you pause?

I’d really appreciate hearing others’ experiences.

My partner and I are trying to figure out the logistics of me working 3 days in the office and him fulltime. He potentially could work 2 days from home, there's no way he could work and look after the 2 kids (will be 3 and 1 when I go back) and we'd prefer to wait until our youngest is over 2 before going into daycare. We're considering hiring a nanny for two half days. Has anyone had this arrangement and its worked (or not worked?) Pros and cons? Thanks!

I would love to get other mums insight into how they juggle work life balance.

I am currently a single parent to a 7yr old.

I work full time Monday to Friday - the standard 40hrs a week. However travel 2hrs each day to and from work due to traffic (1hr each way). I drop my son close to 645am most mornings and collect him after 515 in the evening. We roughly see each other 3hrs a day based on wake up and dinner / bed time.

Although it bothered me and has done for a while, I still dealt with it. Recently my son was asked to join a basketball team and the sessions for his practice were at 4:30pm of the afternoon and I raised this with my manager if I could work out some flexibility or balance to be able to achieve this and she declined. She also advised me that in the event I want to join or change my sons curricular activities they must be discussed or liaised with her first. As an example my son went up to the next level swimming class and we couldn't make appointments during the week so we do this on weekends. However as a result now our weekends are spent trying to juggle these commitments vs the afternoons after school.

I do not have help or assistance with collecting or drop off.

I've recently found myself asking if this is the precedence I am accepting for the future of my son and his outside extra curricular activities and it has made me genuinely question if working full time is what I want.

I even considered moving closer to my work (30mins) to help assist with the travel aspect in the mornings and afternoons but given the current market I cannot afford $800 min a week for a unit. It also meant uprooting his current life and friend group.

I feel extremely stuck between trying to provide for my son and create the life he deserves vs being present and missing opportunities and creating his self independence and courage / team bonding, resilience, etc. At this current point in time I've had to decline all sports he has wanted to try because of this and its impacting my thoughts alot.

The issue is that obtaining or finding a part time position is hard to come by dependant on the role and industry you work in not to mention the pay decrease and travel aspects.

Ideally I'd be happy to work 3 days a week or roughly 24hrs a week (6hr days across 4 days). So i have the best of both worlds.

I have also considered resigning to just have some down time although it means no income for weeks but it would allow me to gain a clearer mind and the ability to attend job interviews as at the current point in time I'd need to take sick leave to attend as I must collect my son before the osch closes due to my finish time.

I see many posts about women going back to work full time and not feeling guilty whereas I am the opposite I slug myself day in day out to do my best and I run myself thin. I do not have time to myself as my son is in my care 90% of the year. His dad works fifo so isnt home much if at all. I dont have family who can help as my parents are elderly and my mum is unable to drive.

I actually feel worse about working full time than I do about not having a job. My son constantly tells me he wishes I was home more and around. He fell behind in his maths due to a change of teacher in his class that we spent hours doing additional maths work vs quality time together. Which is fine but my mind also thinks that if I worked part time or little hours than I could achieve this and support better being present.

I am also mindful that in 6yrs time when he is a teenager he won't necessarily need me as much anymore and I would have missed out on this quality time with him and that hits alot.

Would anyone be able to share feedback comments or even suggestions and advice.

A man at work recently resigned working 27yrs at my company and he said that his biggest regret was never being home to see his children or attend school assembly or events for them. He said he deeply regrets giving his all to an organisation vs his family and we do often get so swept away in the working / earning aspect. The actually big reality to why we work and earn is for our families who matter more than a job.

Given I am on my own my son is my priority. But I also need some income to survive.