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I have a possible opportunity at Protiviti. Coming from big4 and wondering if Protiviti has fairly similar perks. I’ve read the 2022 benefits guide and it gave a oddly low PTO count of 16 days. Is this true and what about a holiday disconnect in the December time period? Are there any other hidden perks that are awesome? Already heard WLB is better and the culture, but I feel like I’ve gotta find that out first hand. Protiviti
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Rising Star
Wow, so no more free lunches…what a joke
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Maybe that’s just you subconsciously preferring to be with your kid/kids
I think that’s what it is. Work is the most important thing until you have kids and then you realize how trivial it all is. I still love my practice area but it’s just my job and then I come home and my real (much harder and much more important) job starts.
Yes, priorities shift, and I often wondering what am I doing here…
Yes. I want to be home with my baby. I was very surprised about how deeply I felt this.
Pro
How long have you been back from leave? The transition is a tough one - the whole architecture of your life and brain changes after kids. It never goes back to how it was, but give it time before you make any big changes.
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2 months is a drop in the ocean. And you’ll probably never enjoy work as much as you did in the past because now you have another thing in your life that will draw and hold your limited time and attention. Figuring out that balance is huge and I don’t think any parent ever feels like they have it perfectly sorted. If you otherwise like your job, I’d give it a year and see if your feelings change.
No, it doesn’t go away. Hard to fight nature. You just learn to live with the guilt. But, personally it hasn’t gone away and has made me resentful towards… everything.
Not entirely helpful but I haven’t heard anything helpful from other moms other than do whatever you can do reduce workload to spent more time with kids. I start a reduced hour schedule after my next leave and am praying it helps.
I’m currently on a reduced hour schedule and it wouldn’t have it any other way!
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Omg same. I went back in January. I loved my job before - my colleagues are amazing, I find the work meaningful, and I’ve earned enough autonomy to be pretty comfortable. But I’m just not feeling it right now. Having conversations with adults and getting to sit at a desk and think about just one thing was a nice change at first, but I am so very over it and all the little things that used to not get to me (work drama, opposing counsel, a case going wrong) feel worse now. I don’t think I want to be a stay at home mom or anything (even if I could afford to), but work doesn’t feel good either.
This so perfectly summarizes how I feel (although I wasn’t too keen on my practice area before having a baby so that hasn’t helped matters lol), thank you for sharing! It’s so hard to sort out what to do because I also don’t want to be a SAHM and am so torn.
It happened to me. So I switched firms and went to 1600 hours and remote (pre covid so remote specifically bc I had a little one). And then when she was five I switched again and went back up to 1800 at a better firm, 3 days in office. My point is that its all about balance
I’m on a reduced hour schedule and I only go in once a week. That’s how I’m making it work. My little one is 13 months. My team knows I only go in once a week and they are good with it.
Give yourself a minute to adjust, mama. You just spent about a year creating life. You then spent X months postpartum, nurturing that new life and adjusting to massive hormonal shifts plus little sleep while doing so. Now you are in another major adjustment period, as you are away from LO (probably for the first time for a material amount of time), and that is a LOT.
Does this feeling of wanting to be home with baby/kids stick for some moms? Definitely. But there are plenty of others who find a working mom balance that is right for them, and they are happy with the juggle that allows them to be mommy, esquire (though the happiest of us understand we cannot possibly do it all perfectly all the time, and we hire ALL the help to make it viable).
To reiterate - give yourself grace and some time to figure out what is best for you and your family. You have options. You do not have to (and arguably should not) make major decisions during such a huge adjustment period. Breathe, discuss with partner/family/close friends. Evaluate what you want and what you think is best for your family after you’ve given the adjustment phase some time to play out. Then formulate the “best for your family plan” and execute.
You’ve got this!
Would like to second the suggestion for outsourcing… outsource everything. You should never spend moments cleaning or shopping (or even cooking if it’s not restorative for you) when you can spend it with your kid. It’s been a huge help for me. Plus, my marriage got better once we hired maids. Lol.
Yep, and I quit my job!! Took me a while and another pregnancy, but that feeling got stronger and stronger. I went reduced hours, asked for a hybrid schedule, etc. None of it took that feeling away. Couldn’t be happier on the other side!
Hell yeah. Happy for you