Part-time jobs which aren’t part-time

[lucylantern]

Anyone else have one of these?

Apparently it’s all fine because we can set our own boundaries and it’s about outcomes not time spent at work etc etc. But I’m finding it exhausting trying to ruthlessly prioritise and finding it impossible not to give in and just log on for a few hours on my non-working day.

Any tips on how to manage it. I’m mid-senior level but don’t really have a manager at the moment so expected to manage it all myself.

Me! I have addressed it with my managers and they are good, we are short staffed and busy I have one rule I'll work over my hours but never log in on my one day off.
I figure when more staff are recruited and I'm not as busy I'll be taking longer lunches and finish on time

Do you feel guilty? I have others in my team who have to pick up the slack and I feel so guilty about it. My part-time request was approved by management when I accepted the job offer but they’ve all left now and wouldn’t be the ones impacted in any case, as it turns out.

I do sometimes feel guilty but then out workloads should be reflected for part time hours.
I also then think of my part time salary and that isn't worth all the free hours they get from me

So true! I am only meant to work 80% of standard hours and it has a big impact on my pay. It means I’m only paid what I’d get if I hadn’t been promoted and was still working at the level below.

All of my teacher colleagues who have gone part time have done it so that they can work on their days off and have weekends free instead. Our jobs are linked so closely to performance, it is impossible not to work outside of hours.

I think whatever the industry, the pressure of having people rely on you means that you will always feel the guilt. I would be called in and hauled over hot coals if the work wasn't completed so that it my motivation for working the extra.

I've just taken a senior level job 3 days per week. I was asked at interview about working "flexibly". I said I'm perfectly happy to work flexibly, but it has to work both ways and I'll expect to take the hours back. What I'm not prepared to do is work FT for PT pay and I mean it.

I've done it in other jobs too. I know I work hard and they get value for money. If I can't do it in the time, it's becuase expectations are unreasonable. I have no qualms about downing tools when time's up or taking an afternoon back if there was a good reason I had to work late a couple of days.

Yep, part-time secondary teacher. I nearly always work on my days off so I can have my weekends. I also have to do things like inset days, some meetings and parents’ evenings on my days off too. I didn’t ask for these specific days off and it’s expected that I’ll do things like parents’ evening. No extra money though. I think most people who work part-time do more than they’re paid for unless you have very clear contracted hours. E.g working in maybe something like retail on the shop floor. I expect part-time retail managers end up doing work at home too. Employers definitely get their moneys worth from part-timers.