Weekend work

Families Take a Beating

As iVillagers tell us, making family a priority in the midst of work responsibilities is a struggle for women, especially mothers. They work their 'second shift' -- that of caring for a family -- after putting in a full day at the office.

'I'm expecting child number two and currently have a seven-year-old,' explains iVillager Kisha. 'In order to continue to be a good mother and spend as much time as possible with the children, I'll be taking the newborn (when he gets here) to work with me. I'll only work six hours a day so I can continue to pick up the seven-year-old from school. I'll make up the hours on the weekend!'

iVillager Kelly says her firm is asking her more and more to come in on the weekend -- sometimes not submitting the request until Friday at 5pm -- while corporate bigwigs keep their weekends free.

'For a single mother of two teenagers, this makes life really hard,' she said. 'I am trying to keep what is left of my family together and this place wants more and more and more from me.'

Telecommuters and home entrepreneurs in particular face the overwhelming problem of lengthening work weeks, because they are never more than just a few feet away from their workspace -- the home office.

'I faced the problem of 'needing' to work late hours or go in on Saturdays when I worked for a large corporation,' writes member Kathy, a small business owner. 'And now that I have my own home-based marketing business, I have the same problem, made even harder, because I don't have to get dressed to go into the office on weekends. I live so close to work!'