We prepare for many eventualities that have a relatively low probability of happening. For example, we wear seat belts to protect us from motor vehicle fatalities (a 0.9% chance). We buy disability insurance, so we’re protected from an injury preventing us from working. So, if you’re a stay-at-home spouse, it’s sensible to prepare for the possibility that your one-income household may be unexpectedly reduced to zero income, whether that’s from divorce (a 40% chance) or another catastrophic event like death.
While it can make sense to leave the workforce, especially when you have young children, doing so can destabilize you financially, particularly if your marriage ends. Even with alimony and child support, the spouse that stayed home usually faces worse financial consequences, and in some cases, they never recover their earning power.
Parents Choosing to Stay Home Despite Financial Cost
Although leaving the workforce, even for a short period, reduces your lifetime earning power, 493,000 families in Canada chose to have one parent stay home in 2015. The number of parents who dropped out of the workforce grew even more during the global pandemic. Province-wide lockdowns and daycare and school closures meant many parents were forced to make the hard choice between caring for kids or earning a paycheque. The result is that Canadian women now report the lowest employment participation numbers in 33 years.
Whether you left the workforce intentionally or were forced out due to factors beyond your control, you need to minimize the impact of leaving the workforce and protect your future earning power. Why? Because your partner’s income isn’t guaranteed, and neither are lifelong marriages. If you find yourself facing divorce or dealing with another catastrophic event, like chronic illness, disability, or death, you may be forced to return to work earlier than planned. Here’s what to do so you can return to work as though you never left.
Ask Your Current Employer for Accommodations
While many Canadians choose to leave the workforce voluntarily, many are forced to step away due to family commitments. If you need to leave the workforce due to childcare constraints or care for elderly or ill relatives, consider asking your employer for accommodations before handing in your notice.
Over the last two years, employers have had to address the growing need to provide accommodations to their employees. If you’re facing childcare constraints, ailing health or an unreliable schedule due to COVID, ask your employer for flex time or the ability to work from home. They may accept, and you may not need to leave the workforce at all.
Work Part-Time or Consult
If you’ve left the workforce to stay at home and care for your family, you might’ve weighed the cost savings of giving up daycare to your lost wages. But the conversation goes further than the simple math of money saved versus lost income. You’ll also need to consider the opportunity cost of staying out of the workforce.
Missing out on raises, new skill adoption, and years of experience can put you significantly and permanently behind. It’s not just your skills or annual income that are affected, either. Leaving the workforce has long-term consequences on your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) contribution room and your pension.
However, you can avoid these drawbacks by returning to work part-time or by offering your skills as a consultant. These types of working arrangements can help you stay in your desired industry and stay current on skills.
Start a Side Hustle
Perhaps you aren’t crazy about your current career or employer. In that case, staying at home can be an excellent opportunity to return to work in a different way by turning a passion project into a money-making side hustle. A side hustle is usually a self-employment endeavour, is scalable (you can work as much as you want) and flexible. Side hustling is how many successful small businesses start and staying at home is an excellent opportunity to leap into self-employment with little risk.
Volunteer
While volunteering can be an excellent way to stay current on your skills, it’s essential to vet the position thoroughly. Volunteering has the benefit of being very rewarding, but it can also be time-consuming. So if you’re considering unpaid work, make sure you use relevant skills or grow your current skill set.
Maintain Your Skills
If taking time away from your household responsibilities is out of the question, you can still keep your skills sharp. For example, you can use project management software to prioritize and manage your children’s e-learning. Use scrum to manage home renovations or inter-office communication software to communicate with your spouse about household management. Stay up to date with industry developments, or use this time to get that extra certification you’ve always wanted to pursue but have never had the time.
Consider Finding Work Elsewhere
If your changing circumstances don’t accommodate your job, a new employer may offer more flexibility. More employers than ever are offering flexible, work-from-home roles that would suit a stay-at-home parent. If you have specific hours that you cannot work, a new job that could accommodate your availability. You might even be able to negotiate a raise when you return to work.
While it’s most beneficial financially to stay in the workforce as long as possible – life happens. Pandemics, chronic illness, childcare, there are many reasons to leave the workforce either voluntarily or otherwise. If you find yourself in this position, you can mitigate the financial fallout by employing the strategies above.
