Belinda Morgan* says its past time for organisations to let go of outdated notions around part-time work that are harming women.
Part-time work has the potential to change lives.
Done well, it can drive hugely positive outcomes for individuals, families, organisations and society.
But if you’ve ever worked in a part-time role, you’ll know that part-time work as it exists in most workplaces today has some major problems.
Most organisations aren’t yet up to speed with part-time work’s potential as a smart people strategy.
They still think of it as an inconvenient (but obligatory) perk they can offer certain people in certain circumstances.
And what’s worse, they often view those who want to work part-time as less committed than their peers.
The very term part-time contributes to this kind of bias, as people seem to conflate it with being part-motivated or even part-capable.
Because of these misconceptions about the structure and the people who prefer to work part-time, organisations rarely put time and effort into setting part-time work up for success.
Part-time workers are often expected to do a full-time job for less pay.
This becomes a recipe for overwhelm and the complete opposite of the balance they were hoping to achieve by going part-time.
On top of this, career progression is commonly off the table until they return to work full-time.
Part-time work effectively becomes a career handbrake, providing no end of frustration for career-driven employees.
Who seeks out part-time work?
There are a huge number of people in the workforce who prefer or need to work part-time.
Data released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) in June this year shows that at every age and stage of their working lives, less than 50 per cent of women are working full-time.
A large proportion of this surprising large group are undoubtedly parents, and being a mother is, of course, a very compelling reason to seek part-time work.
There are also many other reasons people may seek it out.
Such as being a father.
Research done before the pandemic shows that a third of young fathers in the UK say they would take a pay cut to work less and spend more time with their families.
I don’t think it’s going out on too much a limb to suggest this figure has probably increased in the intervening years.
Other excellent reasons people might want to work part-time include:
- Having a disability that precludes them from working full-time,
- Running small businesses alongside a day job,
- Taking a phased transition to retirement,
- Being on a visa that limits working hours.
What does this mean for organisations?
Organisations need to step up to the plate and take this important form of workplace flexibility as seriously as they are now taking remote working.
They need to create more part-time roles and, just as importantly, dedicate the necessary resources to set them up for success.
Here’s why:
1. Talent Attraction & Retention: Given the talent shortages we are currently grappling with, organisations would do well to start creating job structures that allow them to access the full spectrum of talent within the workforce.
Making more roles part-time is a smart way to tap into the hidden talent market outlined above.
2. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: The flow on effect of tapping into the hidden talent market of people who need to work part-time, is the positive effect on inclusion.
In fact, the consulting firm Timewise warns that if a company’s DEI programs aren’t underpinned by a commitment to flexible working that includes part-time, they will struggle to be fully inclusive.
3. Women in Senior Management: Organisations also need to look at creating more part-time roles at senior levels.
Given the high proportion of women working part-time in Australia, this approach has the potential to make a huge difference to the proportion of women in senior management roles and, by extension, the gender pay gap.
4. Cost Savings: For organisations without the budget to pay the full time-salary of top-level talent, part-time roles are a clever way to access this talent.
This can be a particularly effective approach for start-up organisations, for example, who need deep expertise to set themselves up for success, but don’t yet have the funds to hire these experts into full-time roles.
The message is clear.
The future of work is flexible, and organisations can’t let outdated assumptions about part-time work get in the way of them reaping the many benefits of this powerful form of flexibility.
*Belinda Morgan is the author of Solving The Part-Time Puzzle: How to decrease your hours, increase your impact, and thrive in your part-time role. She can be contacted at belindamorgan.com.
