Last night I was watching a movie with my husband. I used to LOVE the movies and go all the time but since I became a mom I never go--and though my husband watches 2-3--sometimes even 4-5--a week, in his "man room", I rarely join him. I feel like I don't have 2 hours to just sit and watch a movie. I feel like I don't have enough time to do half the things I want to do, so if I'm going to give up two solid hours to something, it has gotta be good, and most of the movies out there just don't cut it. But every once in a while I feel like in an effort towards marital harmony, I should join him...so I do.

 

Of course, I can't "just sit". I taught myself to knit, when pregnant with my first, so that at least I could be accomplishing something while TV viewing. But knitting is taboo in the man room because of perfect  ratios of light, and such...so that was out. What did I resort to? I brought my laptop in (somehow the light generated by the screen was minimal enough to pass) and sat there, half watching a not very good movie, and deleted extra spaces in a 700 page document I was working on. I mean, Saturday nights don't get any more exciting than watching a boring movie while hitting "backspace" "tab" "backspace" "tab" as your eyes cross from the aforementioned minimal light on a laptop screen in a darkened media room.

 

What's my point? I thought back to a conversation I'd had with a recruiter. Her point was that even if you're looking for something "special"--like flex time, like a compressed work week, etc--you shouldn't take a job that's below you. She relayed a conversation she'd had with a hiring manager, who said she wouldn't HIRE someone for a job beneath them even if they were willing and able--because she knew that within six months she'd have an unhappy employee and she'd have to hire

again.

 

Listen, most of us have some low-level parts of our job--that's unavoidable. I tell my husband "Derek Jeter loves every bit of being the Yankees shortstop. Once you get beyond him, most people do NOT love their jobs". But you've got to love--or at least like a lot--some of it. Most of it, even. Especially if you're leaving kids at home to do it...kids who yell, who don't take naps--but who mimic every move you make in an endearing way and who run across the room, booger noses and all, to give you a super big hug when you walk in the door.

 

So--I agree with that recruiter. Agree with that hiring manager. Moms are often better at managing time, better at prioritizing--by necessity. Moms are good employees, even if not working 80 hour work weeks. More and more employers are realizing that--and I think we have to not sell ourselves short.

 

Somehow, we have to get the point across that even in a compressed work week--we can still manage people. Manage a high level job. And do more than fix awkward spacing...

 

Any ideas?

 

~Meghan