Seriously Dog

"Salary.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLRY) announced today the results of its annual Mom Salary Survey. For 2010, Salary.com determined that the time mothers spend performing the 10 most popular "mom job functions" would equate to an annual cash compensation of US$117,856 for a Stay-at-Home Mom. Working Moms would earn US$71,860 above their regular salary for their mom duties"

---Taken from MSN



"According to the Salary.com survey, the working mom puts in more than 96 hours a week when you combine her full-time job, mom hours, and mom overtime -- an increase of four hours from last year. This year's survey shows that mom is spending more time preparing meals, making sure the home stays in good repair, and shuttling the family to activities. Moms continue to work longer hours, because they outsource less and handle increasingly more of the workload themselves. Overtime remains a primary driver of mom's six-figure salary. This year, the stay-at-home mom's overtime averaged 59 hours in a 99-hour "work week."

--- Taken from salary.com





No wonder we are all exhausted!! A working mom is putting in 96 hours of work between her full time job and here mom job (which includes 56 hours of overtime). The SAHM mom is putting in 99 hours per week which boils down to 59 hours of overtime! Wouldn't it be nice if we were able to actually collect that salary (even part of it would be nice)? The salary is based on the top 10 functions of a mom which includes: laundry machine operator, janitor, van driver, computer operator, housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, chief executive officer, psychologist, and facilities manager.



The sad thing is that these salaries are down from last year (down 4% for SAHM and down 6% for working moms) because of the economy but the number of hours worked is up because moms are doing more themselves and outsourcing less (again because of the economy).  To be able to take some of the burden off your work life or to take some of the earning burden off your husband would be great. Bottom line - wouldn't it be nice to get some recognition for the job that all moms do in raising our children and sending them out in the world to be productive members of society?



I'm just saying......

Wow - what a long week! It is amazing the amount of work that goes into being a full time SAHM.




I am a newly retired Working mom (just sold a business) and am getting used to not having clients to answer to and deadlines to meet. Ever since my oldest was born (he is now 8) I have been able to work from home with a flexible schedule but this can be both a luxury and a curse. Being at home allowed me to be with my kids and pick them up from school, allowed me to take care of my home and get dinner on the table each night, and allowed me to do the things that need to be done each week (groceries, clothes, sports practices, dry-cleaning) without having to designate the entire weekend to it.




The curse is that work never stops. Your office is in the next room so when something is on your mind about work insomnia sets in and inevitably you end up doing some work when others have left that at the office for the next day. There is always one more task, email, project that you think you can squeeze in while the kids are finishing their homework or while they are watching their favorite show. There is never a time that you can see the stack on your desk and think of all the things you should be doing for work.




The added pressure comes from the fact that, while you can do all of the motherly/housewifey things mentioned above, you can't do any of them well. There have been plenty of moments when my husband has discovered that there is no clean underwear in the house for him that day, multiple occasions when my kid's lunches have been less than spectacular because I haven't been to the store in 2 weeks, and plenty of times we have had hot dogs for dinner because I just didn't plan ahead.




I thought switching gears to being a SAHM would have allowed me to find a little more peace in the house but, sadly that is not the case. Now, instead of being irritated with a client's email or an unreasonable request, I find myself getting irritated that I spent an hour cleaning the downstairs of our house and come back to it 30 minutes later to find it trashed. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to clean all the bathrooms in the house (which is the WORST job in the world) only to find the blob of toothpaste left in the sink after your children brush their teeth. Even the animals chip in on the mess making - the cat with his errant cat litter scatterings and the dog with her incessant need to destroy something in my house each day.




I have decided that it doesn't matter if you are a SAHM or a working mom, no one has it all. There are ups and downs to both and that both jobs are challenging - each in its own way. Each of us juggles different daily responsibilities and no one is sitting around eating bon bons and watching movies all day (despite what some of our husbands think).




I have experienced both sides of the fence and love and hate different aspects of each. Eventually I will most likely go back to work as my kids get a little older but right now I am enjoying discovering new activities like blogging, twittering, deep cleaning the house, organizing, etc, etc. I also enjoy that I can stop and actually take in the world around me. This week I have discovered:

• That a Starbucks Chai Tea Latte a day is a requirement for me to function each day (I am on my way there right now to fill the quota)
• That an 8 year old has the memory of a gnat and will walk out the door for a baseball game right past the baseball hat needed to complete his uniform (even after several reminders not to forget the hat)
• That there is a woman in my neighborhood who chooses as her work-out closes and long sleeve t-shirt and an ankle length skirt
• That it doesn't matter that your kids have been in school for 8 months now they will inevitably walk out the door and get in the car without their book bag an average of 3 days a week (see above - gnat memory)
• That your 4 year old will rat you out to the girl driving carpool and tell everyone that his mom runs red lights (which is totally untrue) and that she talks mean to cars when they won't get out of her way (which I categorically deny).
• There truly is a phobia of clowns (this post by The Blogess chronicals what I image to be my 4 years old's worst nightmare when he is grown and married)
• There is never a time where someone in the house (and that includes the animals) doesn't have a grievance to share with you
• There are days when you truly are over the driving and prep for the kid's activities and you just pray for rain so that everything is cancelled.
• That no matter how much you complain about how your kid's activities are taking over your life that in the end you truly enjoy being there with them.

Here's to the start of a new week - hope it is a great one!