Time Management: Don't Let Work Invade Your Weekends

Today's workplace is busier than ever. And the sobering fact that goes hand-in-hand with that is that many women have to work weekends just to keep up, robbing themselves and their family of valuable downtime.

"I am embarrassed to tell you how much time I spend at home doing things for my job!" writes iVillager Marge. "At this very moment I am searching the Net for work-related info, simultaneously copying tapes to use in educational programs, and reading over material that needs to be presented at the next [meeting].

"It sounds worse now that I'm talking about it," she continued. "This morning as I was looking around the house thinking to myself how shabby this place looks, I realized that it was probably due to the fact that I spend a tremendous amount of home time on work stuff instead of home stuff! Yikes, it has got to stop. But how?"

The Call of the Office

Working weekends has evolved from a guilty sin of corporate America into a necessity of modern careers.

"I have been taking work home for approximately the last four weekends in hopes of getting the job done," writes one iVillage member. "It used to be easier going into the office on Saturdays, but my bosses found out my secret and decided to come in on Saturdays, hoping I would be there. So, I was doing the work they were giving me instead of what I wanted and getting further behind. Now that I have access to a computer at home, I am able to get more done."

A study done by Radcliffe Public Policy Center in New York City showed that nearly one in five men and women said they worked more than 50 hours a week and in 40 percent of couple, one or both worked more than 40 hours a week. And while a report from the U.S. Department of Labor showed no change in the average work week in the past 30 years, it revealed that women are working slightly more hours, men slightly less.

Families Take a Beating

As iVillagers tell us, making family a priority amid work responsibilities is a struggle for women, moms especially. They work their "second shift" -- that of caring for a family -- after putting in a full day in 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 devout 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 and put in some desk time -- sometimes not submitting the request until Friday at 5pm -- while corporate officers 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!"

Fighting Back for Time

No matter what their reasons for working weekends, iVillagers are fighting to reclaim personal time in small, daily battles to keep their personal lives and sanity intact.

"I have started to say no," Kelly said. "I feel that if I am to work on Saturday, they need to ask around Wednesday. By doing this, I can make plans for the kids and I don't feel so guilty. My kids respect me more and I feel that work will respect my off time more."

iVillager Kim said she was constantly working weekends in a law firm that stayed chronically understaffed and didn't cross-train to provide her with relief. Then she had an epiphany.

"I finally got the common sense to seek out a better-paying job (that pays overtime) and also had a support system should I ever be in need of it," Kim writes. "I also won't have a set of keys to this office."

Kim, like many of us, will try to make the next job balance work and weekends. "My friends and family tell me that there is a world out there and they will help me to discover it."