Does the Job Come With Benefits?
“What would be your asking price to do all the “Mommy” work?”
Come again? It could have been an insulting inquiry, but it wasn’t, actually. A frustrated family friend, who had had-it-up-to-there with the grind of paying bills, calling utility companies, and trouble-shooting random homeowner responsibilities while balancing his career and fatherhood, had simply had enough. At least I worked from the home, and flexibly at that. What WOULD I ask in yearly salary to do all the unavoidable junk that takes away from family, career and FUN?
If I’d been prepared to answer his question (a job offer, possibly??), I would have responded with: $113,586.00. And then smile. He would go apoplectic. I might enjoy a little laugh at his expense. Then I’d reassure him that for that one great price tag, I’d act as Office Manager, Chef, Day Care Educator, Bus Driver (not “Limo Driver”, unfortunately, as I drive a mini van in sore need of detailing), and Psychologist, to name a few of the responsibilities I’d undertake. I’d say that’s a pretty good deal.
No, I did not make up the above number. Salary.com does an annual data compilation on their site’s “Mom Wizard” and invites both mothers who are exclusively stay-at-home and who have additional careers to complete the questionnaire. Participants provide details about time spent attending to their duties as “mom” and include those responsibilities as cook, janitor, taxi service, computer tech, etc. Then Salary.com takes that information, the average salaries for these and other (20 total) similarly paid positions, performs a mathematical analysis, and computes a potential “mom” salary. This year’s amount: $113,586.00.
And while that six-figure amount is nothing to sneeze at, Salary.com also estimates that we Supreme Household CEO’s work 94 hours a week. The time equivalent of more than two full-time positions. Per week. And on occasion we pull 24-hour shifts when little ones are ill. We work our butts off, whether we get a paycheck for it or not. (And mothers with additional careers? They spend 58 hours on their motherly duties alone.)
As I contemplated the stats Salary.com put forth, I found myself thinking, “I don’t think that’s a high enough salary for 94 work-hours a week!!!”
Then I remembered, “Oh, yeah. I work that hard for no paycheck at all.” Right.
Not that I felt hurt or offended by that revelation. Women are not rioting in the streets because of that juicy six figures Salary.com posted on its website. Why doesn’t that matter? How many of us moms, whether we “just” (don’t you love that little word…) stay at home or balance an outside position with our family responsibilities truly think we need to be paid (and then get a W-2 form every January I might add) to be a parent?
In the end, the Salary.com information is simply a curiosity, not based in the scientific method. At least if a neighbor asks again for help I can throw out that $113,586.00 figure and have a little fun at his expense. Or lord it over my husband’s head, again, just for fun. In reality, can anyone put a price tag on what moms (and to be fair, dads as well) do as parents and around the home in general? We all work hard. And what do we get back? The privilege of seeing our children grow, learn, and become active thinkers, developing their own personalities and opinions. That is priceless.
Interested in more details? Here is the link to the 13th annual report on “What is a Stay-at-Home-Mom Worth”? from Salary.com:
http://salary.com/how%2Dmuch%2Dshould%2Dmoms%2Dbe%2Dpaid/
