It's better to work full-time
than part-time, isn't it? Who would really want to do half a job if they
can get a whole one?
The answer is, more people
than you might think.
Evidence from the European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions shows that
full-time workers in the European Union in general would like to reduce
the number of hours they work. But this desire was much more pronounced
amongst certain groups.
Findings from their Employment
Options of the Future1 survey found
that:
-
54% of employed workers would
like to work fewer hours than they currently do
-
while most full-time workers
would like to reduce their hours to about 30-35 hours per week, 18 % (1 in
6) would like to reduce their hours by 15 hours or more
-
11% of people would like to
work more hours (i.e. part-time workers who want to work more hours or
move into full-time work)
-
the greatest demand for
part-time work is amongst women with young children: 65% of women
returners prefer to work part-time
Different work patterns for
different times of life
With the increased focus on
work-life balance, reduced or flexible hours are on the policy agenda. Organisations,
however, have been slow in adjusting to this. Opportunities tend to be
limited for people who want non-standard or flexible working hours.
Nearly a quarter of people in
full-time work say they would like to change to part-time, either
permanently (11%) or for a limited period (12%). But only 14% have
actually ever tried to make the transition.
The main reasons for wanting
the change to part-time are:
-
wanting more time for oneself
and one's activities
-
seeking to reduce the strains
of a full-time job
-
wanting more time with the
family
Being a man or a woman makes a
difference to the motivation for seeking part-time work. For men,
combining work with education or allowing more leisure time come out on
top. For women, combining work and family responsibilities is the main
reason.
As yet, though there is much
discussion of phased retirement, part-time
work is not particularly an option of choice for older workers.
So what's stopping people
from doing it?
Reasons for not taking up
part-time work fall into 3 main areas:
-
Personal circumstances
-
Employer resistance
-
Social attitudes
Only 18% of full-time workers
who want to work less think they could afford it. For some, the knock-on
effect is that their partner would have to work more. It's practicality,
not preference, which determines that they work full-time.
For older workers in
particular, loss of income and a reduced pension as major obstacles to the
uptake of part-time work.
Employers are often resistant,
or they feel it only applies to certain kinds of work. (See our recent
article on part-time managers). There are certainly far fewer
part-time jobs out there than people who would like them.
Part-time work is often
thought of as being lower status. For men, it is a difficult option, as
entrenched attitudes associate part-time work with women's work. This is
of course reflected in current practice.
But perhaps most of all as a
barrier is the view that part-time work would inhibit career progression
and professional development.
What next?
It's fine to understand things
better - what's required is to act on the evidence. Public policy has not
yet tackled the disincentives to part-time working. Promoting attitude
change through means of work-life balance initiatives is part of the
answer - but there's a "bottom line" here, for both individuals
and employers. This needs to be tackled by means of fiscal incentives, to
underpin the European goals of getting more people into employment and
creating a more flexible workforce.
And attitudes need to change.
Employers need to become more flexible both in recruitment, and in
responding to requests from existing staff to go part-time and/or
jobshare.
And no doubt further changes
of attitude are needed by those men who see part-time work and childcare
as a combination for women, rather than for themselves.
The figures in this
article are for the most part drawn form a number of reports analysing the
findings of the Employment
Options of the Future survey conducted by the European foundation, in
particular Full-time or Part-time Work: Realities and Options, and
Employment and Working Time in Europe.
|
