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Rising Star
After watching some attorneys who came before me, I’d check for an escape hatch so that if you end up working full time you get full pay
I did this as a "favor" to my then firm. They had an RTO in place so my requirement to agree to it was that while part time I'd be WFH. Initially it was fine but once they got comfortable with me being back the days got longer and that was crappy; they expected me to work because I could with no regard for my time or that I was part time.
Do it!
100000000%
So at my firm, we have a formal ramp up period of 16 weeks, but it doesn’t affect our pay. I’m also already on a part time schedule. The big thing is whether you can hold your own boundaries and say “no I can’t take on this additional work”. I occasionally have to remind one partner that I’m part time, but fortunately they’ve never pushed back once I’ve reminded them.
This! You have to remind them about your reduced hour schedule and keep the boundaries. I am on a reduced hour schedule and I kindly remind people of it. Thankfully my team has been very supportive.
My first pregnancy, my boss and I worked out an approach that gave me some leniency and flexibility without formally going part-time. He figured I’d end up working 40 hrs easy so why take the salary and benefits hit. Instead, we informally reduced my weekly hours to the point just above the company’s part-time mark. Plus, I worked remotely on Fridays, with the option to add two more days as needed. Finally, I worked asynchronously. I left at 3pm, picked up my little one, did dinner, bath and bedtime and then logged in and worked a few hours. It was hard but for me, it fit the bill.
That said, don’t hesitate to go part-time temporarily. I had a phenomenal leader who felt that this period with really little kids was a very small part of a long career and that it was more important to flex for this period of time and keep talent in the workforce than be unnecessarily rigid and lose such incredible talent. That means you! So ignore anything other (e.g., nonsense about slowing your career path) than insights that help you find an approach that works for your situation. Good luck! These working mommas all send you their support!
Ugh. I’m so sorry. Part-time may really make sense, to start off at least, because it creates a framework to give you some protection from drowning in work.
This may be a useful test in determining whether you can work for this person long term. While it’s hard, I would try to be methodical about this. See how things start out, how does she balance getting the work done with your current needs. You’ll need to be professional (the job is to get the work done) AND candid (she will need insights from you, she can’t read minds). It’s possible she’s been drowning while you were out, and she doesn’t have any support, but with a little time and appropriate candor, you can figure it out. If after trying it feels like this isn’t in the cards, it would make sense to move to another partner. One more suggestion: connect with other moms, both those with really little kids and older kids. They’re an invaluable source of support and wise counsel.