TAPP Blog

As the writers on this blog have acknowledged, our reasons for working part-time are numerous. Many part-time employees are parents who wish to have more time to devote to their families. Others work part-time because they want the flexibility to pursue other interests. And many work part-time simply because they’ve yet to find ideal full-time employment.

For much of my working life, I have been a part-time employee, a practice that I continue to this day (though I am no longer employed by anyone but myself!). And at one time or another, every one of the above reasons for working part-time has been true for me.

In some office cultures you find co-workers participating in group social activities, like fantasy sports leagues, book clubs, and health & fitness programs. Some of these activities are sanctioned by employers and some are arranged by individuals.

One only needs to walk in my front door or glance into my car to know that I am not an organized person.  I love everything to be clean and in its place and though it’s how my mother raised us to be, I am just not capable of it.  My sister inherited the neat gene leaving me surrounded by dust and clutter.  I take offense at well meaning people and magazine articles that tell me I should just do this or that and everything would be so simple and so much better.  Just take 5 minutes a day to run a cloth over the furniture or convert empty shoeboxes into the most adorable toy holders.  If I had 5 extra minutes a day I would put it to better use – like showering, or cutting my children’s nails instead of letting them grind down naturally like rodents.  So, I’d like to take five minutes to tell you what I do to get by and stay sane with 3 small children and two jobs.  And it has nothing to do with shoeboxes.