Working Mothers Feeling the Impact of Tough Economic Conditions, CareerBuilder's Annual Mother's Day Survey Finds

- President and mother of three offers tips for navigating through difficult economic times -

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May 05, 2010, 07:00 ET

CHICAGO, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The adage "Mother Knows Best" is underscored this Mother's Day as working moms rely on their resourcefulness to guide their families through a slow economic recovery. Twelve percent of working moms said their spouse or significant other has become unemployed in the last 12 months, with two-thirds (67 percent) indicating that it is causing stress at home. Thirty-six percent of working moms said they are the sole provider for their household and nearly one-in-ten (9 percent) have taken on a second job in the last 12 months to provide for their family. This is according to CareerBuilder's annual Mother's Day survey conducted from February 10 to March 2, 2010, among 604 women, employed full-time, with children 18 and under living in the household.

Growing demands at the office can make it difficult to achieve a healthy work/life balance. Forty-three percent of working moms work more than 40 hours per week. More than one-third (34 percent) who take work home reported they typically bring work home three days a week or more. Twenty-three percent bring work home on the weekends.

Heavier workloads and longer hours are resulting in less quality time at home. Nearly one-in-five (18 percent) of working moms said they spend two hours or less with their children each work day. Nearly three-in-ten (29 percent) reported they missed two or more significant events in their child's life due to work in the last year.

"The tough economy has taken its toll on family units and working moms are challenged with doing more with less time," said Mary Delaney, President of Personified, CareerBuilder's talent consulting division, and mother of three. "What we're seeing from these moms is a great deal of resourcefulness and resilience as they provide for their families. While they may not be able to spend as much time with their children as they would like, working moms are making the most of the time they do have and getting creative in work arrangements."

Delaney recommends the following tips for navigating through difficult economic times:

Talk to other working moms – Many families are in the same boat as you and having a support network is essential to your personal and professional sanity. Getting tips from other working moms on how they juggle personal and professional commitments can be a big help.

Seek out flexible work arrangements – The vast majority of working moms who have taken advantage of flexible work arrangements said it hasn't negatively impacted their careers. In fact, one-in-five (21 percent) said it has actually helped their careers.

Have a plan – Structure in your life will save you time, stress and mental energy. Keep one calendar for business and family commitments to avoid double-booking. Set up a schedule for chores, homework, family activities, playtime, etc.

Take advantage of work perks - Companies offer a variety of perks such as wellness benefits, company discounts on entertainment venues, etc. Talk to your HR department and see what is available to help save money on monthly expenses and fun family outings.

Make the most of your family time – When you're home, it's all about them. Wait until after the children go to bed before checking email or finishing up that presentation.

Schedule some "me time" – Working moms need to take care of themselves too. Put actual time on the calendar for an hour or more of doing something you enjoy such as going to the gym, taking a walk, reading, etc.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 604 U.S. working moms (employed full-time; not self-employed; non government, with children living in the household); ages 18 and over between February 10 and March 2, 2010 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset of U.S. employees, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 604, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 3.99 percentage points. 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 their most important asset - their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 23 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 32 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world's top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and data analysis to recruitment support. More than 9,000 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, The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.