Working Mums, UK Style

According to a report in the Daily Express online dated 7 August 2009, a recent survey, commissioned by the Department for Children, Schools & Families, found that most mothers in the UK would like to work less or quit their jobs altogether to look after their children.

In fact, the survey found that more than a third of the working mums said that they would give up work to look after their children if they could afford to do so, and 58 percent said that they would like to work fewer hours.

These statistics are perhaps not surprising to many mums who are trying to balance the roles of work and family, but whose choices are limited because of the need to bring more money into the family home.

Equally frustrating is the UK's general attitude towards working mums. British Actress Emma Thompson echoed the feelings of many recently when she was quoted in the Daily Express as saying that British working mothers often suffer from Victorian aged British attitudes.

In the current economic climate, with many jobs being lost and others taking pay reductions and reduced hours, it's little surprise that mums are looking around for alternative types of home based work that will allow them to earn whilst still being able to spend more time with their families.

A simple google search of 'working mums uk' or 'home based work' will reveal many different kinds of possible work, ranging from party planning to internet consultancy, driving instructor, independent distributors, marketing & advertising, property inventory clerks, telesales, language-teaching franchises, catalogue distributors, energy efficiency inspectors, etc etc. The list of opportunities is endless, and can take the form of employment-based home working or self-employed work.

Being self-employed can be a bit of a minefield if you've never worked for yourself before and will necessitate some research into the regulations, how to prepare a business plan, and how any earning might affect benefit entitlements. But in the UK we're seeing an increase in women who are turning their hobby into a business; particularly in the arts & crafts businesses, for example creating private dinner parties, baking cupcakes, making jewellery etc. and selling their wares on market stalls, to friends and family (initially anyway) and even using sites such as e-bay. We're seeing professional working mums who are turning to network marketing businesses as a way to combine working from home and choosing their own hours with generating a monthly income. And more and more, we're seeing working mums beginning to control their own work-life balance in a more satisfying way.

Will it work for every working mum? No, of course not. Will everyone make a success of their home work? No, of course not. But, with 58% of those surveyed saying that they would like to work fewer hours so that they can spend more time with their families, there is certainly no lack of motivation to give it a try!