Mom’s Work is Never Done!
I'm sure every mom has thought about it -- how much would I get paid for this non-stop job, if I was getting paid in dollars. Well each year in honor of Mother’s Day, Salary.com answers that age-old question.
They calculate how much a mom would make-another words the cost to an employer if they had to pay cash for all the jobs that moms do.
The 12,000 moms surveyed got to pick their top 10 “mom jobs”: housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, computer operator, facilities manger, van driver, psychologist, laundry operator, janitor and CEO. They calculated the yearly mom salary for both Working and Stay-at-Home Moms! Based on time spent doing the 10 jobs chosen, the annual salary for the stay-at-home mom is $122,732. Working moms 'at-home" salary is $76,184 (this is in addition to the salary they earn in the workplace).
The figure, by the way, includes 56.4 hours of overtime for the mom at home and 17 hours of overtime for the working mom.
The website allows you to determine your own “mom paycheck”. I decided to play along….I failed the first question because the box only allowed me to chart 4 children. Let’s not forget I have 4 children under the age of 6 and 3 older daughters 21, 26 and 28! OK, so I kept going…I filled in my hours for each role, keeping it very conservative, filled in how many hours I work outside of the home, again playing it conservative, and then hit the GO button. All I have to say is MY COMPUTER LOCKED UP! Salary.com’s mom salary wizard couldn’t handle my request! All I can say is “A MOM’S WORK IS NEVER DONE“.
I wish I could snuggle back under my covers now and go back to sleep, but it’s time to shuffle the kids off to school and get to work!! And incidentally, isn’t the phrase “working mom” redundant? I mean aren’t all moms working moms!
Of course the rewards we receive in lieu of cash are priceless. Hugs and kisses, and items made from Popsicle sticks. Often it feels as though we need an extra arm, if for nothing else so we can pat ourselves on the back.
Joan Lunden truly exemplifies today’s modern working woman. An award-winning journalist, bestselling author, motivational speaker, successful entrepreneur, one of America’s most recognized and trusted television personalities, this mom of seven continues to do it all. As host of Good Morning America for nearly two decades, Lunden brought insight to top issues for millions of Americans each day. The longest running host ever on early morning television, Lunden reported from 26 countries, covered 4 presidents and 5 Olympics and kept Americans up to date on how to care for their homes, their families and themselves.