One-Third of Working Moms are the Sole Financial Provider in Their Households, CareerBuilder's Annual Mother's Day Survey Finds

More Than One in Four Working Moms Said Their Kids Have Asked Them to Work Less

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May 09, 2013, 06:00 ET

CHICAGO, May 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Many working moms are shouldering the full financial burden of their households, closing in on the number of men who carry this responsibility. Thirty-four percent of working moms reported that they are the sole financial provider for their households, not far from the 39 percent of working dads who reported that they serve as the sole breadwinner.

CareerBuilder's annual study also finds that working moms continue to struggle with finding a good balance between the office and home, and often have to compromise quality time with their families. The national survey, which was conducted online by Harris Interactive^©between February 11 and March 6, 2013, included 411 working mothers and 420 working fathers with children 18 and under who are living with them.

Shorter Maternity Leave
Demanding work environments have led to some women cutting their maternity leave short. Of women who have had a child in the last three years, 30 percent didn't take the full maternity leave their company allowed. While 45 percent of women who have had a child in the last three years said they took more than eight weeks of maternity leave, 17 percent took four weeks or less and 12 percent took two weeks or less.

Work's Impact on Family Relationships
Juggling professional and personal obligations is an ongoing challenge. More than one in four working moms (28 percent) said their children have asked them to work less. Twenty-four percent reported that they spend two hours or less with their children each day during the workweek.

17 percent of working moms said their jobs have negatively impacted their relationship with their children
12 percent said their jobs have negatively impacted their relationship with their spouse or significant other

"The household dynamic has changed over the years with women reshaping traditional roles," said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder and working mom. "Women account for more than half of the U.S. workforce and are often the breadwinners for their households. While many women successfully manage careers and families, the quest for more quality time at home will always be top of mind."

Tips for Finding a Better Work/Life Balance

Explore other work arrangements – Six-in-ten working moms (60 percent) have taken advantage of flexible work arrangements, and the vast majority said it hasn't negatively impacted their careers. Discuss options with your supervisor or HR department, armed with a game plan for how you can manage your workload, cover responsibilities, etc.

Learn to say no - Set boundaries, choose the activities that are the biggest priority for you and forget about the guilt.

Get organized – Keep one calendar for business and family commitments to avoid double-booking. Set up a schedule for chores, homework, dates with your significant other and family activities.

Remember quality over quantity – If you're only able to spend a few hours with your children each day, make the most of that time. Wait until your children go to bed before checking email or finishing up that presentation.

Carve out "me time" – Moms need a break too. Schedule time for yourself to relax and recharge.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive^© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 411 working moms and 420 working dads of kids 18 and under living in their household (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between February 11 and March 6, 2013 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With pure probability samples of 411 and 420, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 4.83 and +/- 4.78 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder®
CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract great talent. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 24 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 50 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world's top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and talent and compensation intelligence to recruitment solutions. More than 10,000 websites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder's proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com

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SOURCE CareerBuilder