To ask why young people without children work part time?

[RosesinGranGransgarden]

Going to get flamed for this but here goes!

In every single job I've been in I've worked with people younger than me who work part time hours. I can't quite get my head around it.
In my previous job I was a retail manager. Most of the staff were young, 20-30, none had kids apart from me and one other lady. We used to have a sheet of overtime shifts up and I used to have to beg staff to work it. These are young people, not studying, none with disabilities that they disclosed to me, most were renting/ house sharing. I never understood why they didn't want to work more hours, get more money for house deposits, travelling etc.
Another job I was an admin assistant and two or three of the other admin were young women, married with no children, who worked three or four days a week. Why?! Even if their husbands earned enough to support them, shouldn't they have worked to save for maternity leave, holidays, nice car etc.
I know money doesn't motivate a lot of people but as a young, childfree person, I would have never thought to apply for a part time job, unless I could be assured there was overtime. If not for financial reasons then just out of boredom, as all my friends would have been working full time.
Currently I work 32 hours due to no afterschool club, my colleague works the same hours. She said to me yesterday she wants to drop a day as she's exhausted. She's 28?! We work in an office together. She moans about not being a homeowner, why not work more hours?
Sorry rant over.

[Littlemeadow123]

Circumstances. Jobs aren't always easy to come by and you sometimes have to take a part time job because it's either that or nothing.

[La1ka]

There could be a thousand reasons, but if they don’t want to and don’t have to, isnt it up to them? I have a second job outside my (full time) job and I volunteer and have interests that I adore. If I could work part time to pursue them more then I absolutely would. They’re young, maybe they live at home and don’t need to the money, entirely up to them what they do with their lives.

[SimonJT]

Because they want to. When I met my boyfriend he was working four days a week (mon-thurs) as he didn’t need the money a fifth day would bring and it meant he could go on regular weekends away without using holiday. His new job is also part time but not fixed days, he just has to do n hours each week.

[KeyWorker]

Lots of employers only offer part time contracts. It’s increasingly difficult to find a full tome job in retail. Perhaps these ‘young people’ you worked with actually had a second job to make up full time hours, there for weren’t interested in the bits of extra hours offered by your employer.

[Blackbutler86]

Honestly I work part time because I have dogs, I always always wanted a dog growing up and knew I could never be happy not owning one. I’m lucky enough to have 5 and although I do think sometimes I never gave myself a chance for a career my dogs make me the happiest I can be. I’m also fortunate my partner earns a decent wage so we live a fairly comfortable life. My job also allows me to work more hours if I want so if there’s something specific to save for I can take on more.

[maddiemookins16mum]

I’ve been working 40 years, none of the ‘young uns’ I knew worked PT, unless they were working other jobs too.

[Walkingtohealth]

There’s many reasons why young people might do this.

My niece did so but was studying in the evenings and this wasn’t something she necessarily shared with her managers. She’s now in a full time job.

Years ago I worked with a few people who’d work six months and then disappear to Spain/elsewhere for six mo this and do bar work etc.

Some may have invisible disabilities you don’t know about. I have ADHD and while I am now older I wouldn’t choose to work full time ever again. It keeps me able to cope.

Likewise my son who is still too young for work may struggle to find full time work as he is autistic with ADHD. He might cope with and love full time work but he might not. In his case though a manager is likely to know he has difficulties.

[mynameiscalypso]

I worked part time for a while for mental health reasons. I didn't want to stop working completely but I didn't have the physical or mental capacity to work five days a week. A couple of days off midweek gave me the ability to recuperate and O used to ensure that medical appointments were scheduled on those days.

[Aria2015]

The people I know who do this wanted a better work / life balance and they were in the financial position to achieve this by working less hours. I'm all for it! One of my friends (doesn't have or want children) has never been happier since she went part time.

[Mabelannie]

If you’ve got no prospect of ever getting on the housing ladder however hard you work then I guess you might as well work to live. That will be the case for some young people these days.

[PlanDeRaccordement]

I have read thar many companies deliberately would rather have 3 part time workers than 2 full time because it reduces their labour costs for same total hours of work. Lower NIC to pay, fewer benefit entitlements to manage and fund (eg maternity pay). Can also ramp up hours with part timers without paying overtime rates of pay. And these PT workers are preferably under 25 because can pay a lower minimum wage.

I don’t think the workers you are seeing are working part time through their own choice.

[PrincessConsuelaVaginaHammock]

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

And frankly your idea that they should prioritise a nice car is deranged. It's one thing working for more security, but not seeing why people wouldn't value consumer goods? Odd a 20yr old wanting nice consumer goods to you is deranged? Really?

No. What a bizarre interpretation. The idea that a 20 something should prioritise material goods like a 'nice' car over their time, like it's some kind of generally applicable and assumed principle, is deranged.

[RosesinGranGransgarden]

@bee222 me too, I have a degree in Postcolonial literature, now a home owner. Worked full time since I graduated. I used to use my own experience to teach them how to not waste their lives working in a shop and go look at graduate schemes (they never listened.)
People who were saying 'maybe part time is all they could get' in nearly every instance they were offered overtime or a full time job. My colleague is actively trying to reduce her hours.

[Rebelwithallthecause]

As soon as I could afford to work part time whilst still having a nice lifestyle and with things to fill the time off I did so

I was around 28 years old and had worked full time up until then

I’m now 34 and part time because I have children. I could easily work full time, but I don’t need or want to

I have a senior management job and this suits me perfectly

[ArriettyJones]

@RosesinGranGransgarden

Ok so those of you with dc's in university, here is the typical sort of employee that we had in our hipster shop/cafe. Young MC graduate often with a humanities or art degree, family help with rent, working 20 hours in a minimum wage job. Are you happy with that arrangement? You keep calling and asking them how things are going as it's 1+ years since graduation, and they say fine. You're funding them and they're turning down the chance to earn more money?

Well one of mine is off to art school, to study something very vocational. So if they want to they’re welcome to live at home and combine creative practice with a PT job for a few years post-graduation, but I wouldn’t help to pay rent on a flat.

The eldest graduated a year ago and likewise I would have happily accommodated them for a few years while they saved or embarked on a patchwork of internships, postgrad, and paid work. However they were extremely focussed on getting a toe on the housing ladder before anything else and did it within six months of graduating (by compromising and shelving other ambitions in the short term).

I think twenty somethings do face some tricky choices now because of the cost of everything in relation to wages. I haven’t met one who just works PT and does nothing else, though.

[Redorange42]

Also your comment at the end of your post about the 28 year old colleague who wants to drop a day because shes exhausted - she could have an illness you dont know about. Just because shes only 28 doesn't mean shes in perfect health and doesn't have a right to be exhausted. I'm 25 and due to multiple health issues including multiple sclerosis, I find my job much harder than my colleagues in their 60s do.

[022828MAN]

Erm, because they... Want to and can?!

[Nacreous]

I worked part time for a couple of years during my early twenties. I have a long term illness and had a massively stressful job, and I had enough money to have what I wanted from life working 80% hours. My illness was exacerbated by the stress and I used to work 4 weeks out of 5 and then have a week off to recuperate.

I had a reliable car with air-conditioning and a decent stereo, I saved to buy a house and could afford 2 or 3 (cheap but fun) holidays a year. It meant I had time to do backstage stuff for the local am dram group. I loved it.

I work full-time now, but still regularly consider going part time at work to fit all my hobbies in. Going part time would mean I could swim during the day, and fit boring weekend jobs into the week leaving the weekends free. Covid means I haven't noticed not having enough time anymore as most of my hobbies are cancelled, I'll reassess when things go back to normal. My illness doesn't really impact me any more as my job is less stressful so it wouldn't be "because" of that. But if I can afford to work part time, maybe I might as well?

[OneMoreLight]

We have no children, the aim is to both go to 4 days in a few years (mid 30s) so we have more time to enjoy life.

We're working full time until the house revamping is finished.

[022828MAN]

I have a degree in Postcolonial literature, now a home owner. Worked full time since I graduated. I used to use my own experience to teach them how to not waste their lives working in a shop and go look at graduate schemes (they never listened.)

Ughhhh... I'm not starting to think they work part time to be around you and your ego less to be honest.

[PrincessConsuelaVaginaHammock]

[quote RosesinGranGransgarden]@bee222 me too, I have a degree in Postcolonial literature, now a home owner. Worked full time since I graduated. I used to use my own experience to teach them how to not waste their lives working in a shop and go look at graduate schemes (they never listened.)
People who were saying 'maybe part time is all they could get' in nearly every instance they were offered overtime or a full time job. My colleague is actively trying to reduce her hours. [/quote]
You've had your answer though: some combination of don't need to and don't want to. What they're being offered evidently isn't attractive enough.

[La1ka]

@RosesinGranGransgarden ‘waste their loves working in a shop’

What an awful thing to say. You need to remember that all people are different and what might be ‘success’ to you, isn’t ‘success’ to another. If people want your advice then they can ask but you shouldn’t be dictating to people that their choices are wrong.

[Littlemeadow123]

Unless you know all of the ins and outs of their life, you can't really judge. There are many other perfectly good reasons for not wanting to work full time other than having kids.

[firstimemamma]

Not everyone enjoys travelling. Some people enjoy other things such as volunteering.

[XxxSallyMaexxX]

Some live to work and some work to live.