If your career is thriving, you are likely to feel very appreciative but are you also wondering how to balance your career with starting a family.
Your job could enhance your standard of living and self-esteem. However, if you spend much of your life working, there can be some negative side-effects as well.
For example, you might feel overwhelmed by the workload and like you rarely have time even to consider starting a family.
How to balance your career with starting a family
If something really has to give, here is some advice for tipping your work-life balance slightly more in favour of the latter.
Consider what, as a parent, you would be entitled to
You don’t have to give up your job to become a parent. That’s because this job would give you parental rights outlined by The Guardian.
Women in full- or part-time employment can take 52-week statutory maternity leave, while men have the option of paid shared parental leave. There is also self employed maternity pay that is available to mothers who are self-employed or work on temporary contracts.
Calculate what expenditure would be necessary
You shouldn’t underestimate the cost of raising a young child; it can feel like having a second mortgage. In 2015, a report cited by The Guardian revealed that 29% of mothers and 14% of fathers chose to stay at home rather than work, as nursery bills had simply become too high.
Do take a look at Childcare.co.uk if you are on the look out for childcare near you
However, remember that, once your child starts school, the cost is likely to fall. So, plan ahead with your spending – but you might not need to plan quite as diligently for the school years.
Keep seeking to climb the career ranks
Becoming pregnant doesn’t have to mean saying goodbye to any chance of clinching a senior position. In fact, many such positions are actively offered to mothers and fathers.
Some employers even offer senior posts as job shares, whereby parents would be able to take up these prestigious responsibilities while continuing to look after young families.
There is no strictly right or wrong approach
While following the advice previously detailed in this article could certainly give you a healthier work-life balance, you should resist assuming that there are definite “right” and “wrong” choices.
Ultimately, your family’s needs could significantly change as the years pass – and it’s common practice for parents to tailor their working schedules to accommodate such change. Therefore, once you do make a decision, remember that it doesn’t need to be set in stone.
Set aside time to relax – for your children’s benefit
When you have a few little ones, you are obliged to look after your mental health – for the sake of their mental health, too. The charity Family Lives cautions that children easily detect bad moods; however, if you come across as relaxed, your children will be similarly soothed.
So, once you come home from work, don’t be afraid to have a 10-minute shower and get changed to relax before sitting down with your kids. CV-Library, a popular online portal for job vacancies, offers a treasure trove of other advice for cutting the likelihood of speed bumps in a career.
How to balance your career with starting a family is a feature post