Will Working Women Bring In Money at Home?

Suppose that a married woman with a preschool-age child is offered a job that pays $15,000 a year. How much of that money will she really bring home? Half? A third? In many countries the answer could well be one fifth!

Hard to believe? Look at the financial records of one such working wife and mother, as reported by the publishers of Changing Times magazine and as shown here under the heading "It Costs Money to Work."

If you are a working woman, why not take a few minutes and make a list of where your money is going? Take your daily expenses, such as bus fare and lunch at work, and multiply them by 250 if you work five days a week, or by 300 if you work six days. Does your work require you to own and maintain a car that would not otherwise be needed? Figure that in. Do you need special clothes for the office? Child care? The total cost of your work may surprise you.

As you can see, the largest single expense for this woman was taxation. Of course, taxes in your country may not be as high as they are in the United States. But if you live in Europe, quite likely they are even higher. In Sweden, for example, taxes take 60 percent of total production. Notice, too, the extra travel and clothing expense this woman incurred because of her job. Such expenses are quite common.

The family of this working woman should not consider even her net income of $3,037 to be all gain. It should be balanced against the loss to the family of her services as a full-time wife and homemaker. How much are those services worth? More than many women realize!

"You Pay with Your Pride"

A study showed that in 1972 it would cost $6,417 to hire someone for a year to do all the things around the house done by an average 30-year-old housewife. In 1980 dollars, that would be about $12,000. Of course, a working wife still does many things at home, but she certainly doesn't have the time or energy to do what she formerly did.

"You just can't give 100 percent at work and then keep house the way you used to," said one working mother. "Even if your husband is very helpful, as mine is, you still can't avoid losing some of the quality of your housekeeping. You pay with your pride." While it would be difficult to put a monetary value on harried housekeeping, there is little doubt that it affects the family's quality of life.

Maturity and communication are especially needed when both husband and wife have jobs outside the home. For example, family unity may suffer if the husband feels that his position as head of the family is threatened by his wife's income, especially if the wife earns as much money as he does, or more. This situation isn't helped when the wife takes the position that "I earned this money myself, and I'll spend it as I see fit."

The marriage may also suffer if the wife looks upon her job primarily as an escape from the "boredom" of the home. Without realizing it, she may pour her energies into her job to the extent that her housekeeping suffers and the husband objects. On the other hand, the husband may fail to appreciate that his wife needs more help around the house now that she is working. Communication is important on both sides. The problem is that communication may suffer when both parties are exhausted after a hard day's work, followed by the "overtime" of necessary housework.

It is helpful if both husband and wife agree beforehand on just why the wife is working, and what will be done with the money she makes. The agreement may be flexible, and subject to review, but it is a valuable safeguard against later misunderstandings.