To ask why are part time workers disliked?

[CherryCocoa]

I've recently returned to work but part time. It would appear that a lot of people higher than me are not keen on part time workers but I don't understand why? I work hard, I am conscientious, none of my work is passed to anyone else, but yet I'm still looked down on for being part time. Is it seen as lazy maybe? I work 30+ hours a week, I have a baby to look after and a house to run and obviously my pay is pro rata to account for less hours. I'm not a lazy person at all. I just don't get it, can anyone shed the light for me please?

I think people forget that you get less pay. I get loads of comments like "lucky you", "ooh swanning off early again?" Etc etc. I do remind people at such times that I get paid a lot less than them so not really that "lucky"!

GeordieGreigsButtButtZoom: You keep trying to blame part timers for the fact that management hires part timers. It is like blaming a juggler for being employed at a hedge fund because their juggling skills aren't useful to the company or compatible with the low-hanging chandeliers.If the type of work on offer isn't beneficial even when the workers do the job fine, management shouldn't be deciding to pay people to do it. It's a management issue. If a woman asks to go part time after having baby, again, it's up to management to make the call. If they think she's a great worker and want to keep her by allowing it, that's up to them. She obviously impressed them enough as a full timer and presumably remains accountable.

Part time work is notoriously difficult to come by, partly because it often is not compatible with a business, so I'm grateful that I'm able to do it. If anyone has a problem with me being part time, they need to speak to the board. The position was advertised as part time. That was their business decision, not mine.

I don't think you get it. I am not blaming pt-ers. I will happily phase out your rare pt job because I would rather not have to accommodate your hours however good you may be. Bear in mind pt-ers stay for years pt (which is years of accommodation and inconvenience for the employer) but if the employer fires you and hires a ft employee, they only take a temporary hit in training and end up with lower overall costs and hassle of a ft employee.

If every employer behaves like you expect them to (and not accommodate pt-ers who are good but whose hours are less than ideal for the business), isn't that a retrograde step? You are cutting off your own nose to spite your face.

With the best pt arrangements and the best management, you cannot control what other people think. Of course, some people will be resentful for reasons which may be entirely unjustified. Just quit or grow a thicker skin or blame management, it seems.

@LolaSmiles Someone doing a 50k job should be paid at that equivalent salary whether full or part time so I don't have an issue with that.

The question the OP asked is around issues people have with 'part timers' and I've suggested that this difference in take home pay after tax might cause resentment from staff. Surely you could see that might be an issue.

Certainly I've had colleagues complain about it mostly because FT staff are expected to do a lot more extra hours than staff who are part time despite the part timers making more per diem.

Waferbiscuit
I doubt most people spend that much time working out what their colleagues take home each month.

Equally, the part time staff aren't being paid more per hour. They are in a salaried position and being paid a percentage of their salary (the same salary as FT staff), which the government taxes at a different rate because they earn less. The company isn't paying them a higher hourly rate.

Colleagues who wish to be taxed at the lower rate could equally go part time or find a role that is in the lower rate tax bracket. It's a bit woe is me for someone to be miserable because someone earning less by pays less tax, but they pay less tax because they earn less.

I think most resentment towards part time colleagues happens for 2 reasons, either management is poor (so workload, overtime, give and take etc isn't allocated fairly), or those full of resentment are one of life's moaners who can't function unless they're complaining about something or someone.

I don't understand the idea that people working part time invariably do fewer extra hours than full time staff, pro rata, that has never been my experience and I have certainly heard it said that employers get more work out of two part time staff than one full time one.
I also don't get the idea that this is a massive inconvenience for employers. Not all people working part time requested to do so - there are many part time contracts being offered as such, there are advantages to employers from this. I did request that my hours were reduced, but that still benefited my employer as they were able to pay me less and worked out they did not need to pay someone for the rest of the week - a financial win for them.

@LolaSmiles I understand how tax works and what the reason is for the difference.

I also think it's v easy to blame management but as someone who manages a team where almost all the staff at different points ended up going part time I can say that it can be hard to manage change to part time, it can be 6 months before a person is in post to cover the gap and often as a manager you end up taking on some of the tasks led by the person who works part time.

Waferbiscuit
I don't doubt you know how tax works. It was more that talking about how part time workers are paid more per hour is a weird argument to make when they are paid a percentage of their salary, which is taxed less.
Framing it as 'part time workers get paid more per hour' makes out like they're unreasonable for working their hours or their employer should he expecting more from them. They are paid the same hourly rate as someone on FTE salary.

I totally hear you on the challenges of managing. It's never easy and I dont know about you, but I've generally found that almost nobody expects a perfect manager. They just want a reasonable one.

My exasperation up thread regarding management was when a poster repeatedly said her PT colleagues were out of order, instead of directing their irritation to the evidently poor management (who had been dismissive when they raised concerns about the issues they were complaining about here). I feel really strongly about part time staff being convenient scapegoats for workplace frustrations. If a manager is allowing a free for all that doesn't allocate work appropriately and is dismissive when a team member raises concerns then that is absolutely a management issue, not a part time staff issue.

I really think there used to be a negative attitude towards pert time workers, and I have known the term 'part-timer' being used as an insult as well.

However, I have now joined what seems to be a significantly expanding number of people who have a mixture of employment arrangements: zero hours contracts, 'gig' working, modular contract (paid per module) and self employed. It is really complicated.

So people who work in a part time capacity, may have several different part time or equivalent roles. Working arrangements can be so complicated and having one full time job may be somewhat precarious in this unstable economic climate.

I work PT in a profession where it is very rare to do so and I do cop a lot of flak for it. I get the following:
-‘oh off tomorrow are you part timer?’ type comments which are a bit tiresome (ditto how was your holiday after mat leave, clocking off at 5pm are we etc etc).
-I’m not taken as seriously as my colleagues as it’s perceived that my job isn’t my priority.
-I get passed over for more interesting/demanding projects and thus passed over for promotion.

This is despite me:
-working twice as hard to make sure all of my work is completed when it needs to be so nobody has to deal with it when I’m not there.
-taking calls from clients or colleagues on my days off if I need to.
-checking my emails on days off in case something comes in that I need to deal with it just respond to.
-working from the minute I get in to the minute I leave with a couple of short breaks for a coffee/lunch
-rearrange my days if I’m needed to work or travel on them when I can.
-never have a doctors/dentist appointment on a work day
-never off sick as I’m much less tired and stressed
-don’t often need to take holidays (apart from the usual two week summer one) as long weekends etc can be accommodated with my days off.
-rarely have days off with my kids being sick as me and my OH can chop and change as we are both PT.

It annoys me no end tbh. Especially since my OH is also PT in the same industry but doesn’t seem to cop the same rubbish as I do.

Yeah, I've had this too OP. I used to work full time but went part time when Dad had cancer and someone had to do all the rounds for chemo etc. I now care for Mum so have remained part time.

My (now) line manager used to be part time but she became a line manager and went full time. I've heard her say numerous times how part timers are a waste of time and that our team should only have full time staff. How bloody rude. Full timers have a caseload of about 40 cases. I work half their hours and have roughly 30 cases. How she works out part time staff are useless is beyond me. She used to be part time not too long ago!!!