Household CEO...What's its worth?

I've been talking about this concept of Household CEO for a couple of days now.  I believe that what a person does to keep a house and family running smoothly is important.  I believe that when you have one person who works in the home and one who works outside the home things will probably be more balanced.  I wrote a job description that touches on the duties of the Household CEO.  But, this job really entails more than you could ever put down on paper.

Clearly, this job is one of the most important jobs available.  If you have been reading along you know that I value success.  The quantitative measure of success has always been money for me.  The more demanding my job, the more money I made.  That is where the Household CEO starts to fall apart for me.  I am doing this job, it is the most demanding job I have ever had and my reviews (appreciation and comments from family) are great.  But, my salary is zip.

So, Mark has asked the question...what do I need each month.  He puts that much in my account and if I run out I can transfer more from savings.  But, that extra transfer makes me feel guilty.  Because I'm not bringing in an income I don't feel like I have as much freedom to spend for non-essentials anymore.  This creates job dissatisfaction.

I really started analyzing the role of Household CEO and looking at the skills/talents that it takes to be successful in this role.  Here are the things that really stand out for me:

• Make important decisions quickly without input from other household members.
• Manage a budget.
• Communicate effectively with various household members.
• Manage family schedule.
• Build and nurture outside relationships that sustain family.
• Manage and interact with outside contractors. 
• Take on additional full time roles of the following:
• Chef
• Housekeeper
• Chauffer
• Personal Shopper
• Nanny

If you were to put a monetary value on this position it would have to take into account the level of skill required.  People who have to make important decisions on a regular basis with no one else's input are generally high salaried employees.  People who manage others and budgets are usually well paid employees.  People who review and sign contracts with outside vendors are usually management with good incomes.  We probably don't even need to throw in the additional, full-time roles the Household CEO takes on.  You can see where I am going here.

The actual monetary value of this position in our workforce would be somewhere between $45k and $250K depending on the size of your family, house and outside help.  The more work...the more payment.  I'm not suggesting that you go and tell your spouse that they need to pay you a huge salary.  Most of us are Household CEOs because we love our families.  However, I am suggesting that there is tangible value to this role.  

Transitioning from working outside of the house to Household CEO is difficult.  For me the most difficult piece has been that I felt I had the right to have a little slush money when I worked and got a pay check.  Even though I work just as hard today as I did in outside the home, I feel guilty when I spend money on things unrelated to the family.  This exercise has really been about increasing the sense of pride and accomplishment I feel for taking on this role.  In our budge I am going to find a way to put back in a little slush money.  I would like to be able to buy my husband a present without having to tell him I am over budget.

Finally, I would like to give a little shout out to all the single moms that I know.  It is difficult to manage everything with two people.  I don't know how you do it all.  You are definitely superwomen!!