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?

Because it means managers need to manage their time around when they know you’ll be able to deliver work, and bad managers can’t be bothered to manage their time and just expect you to be there whenever they get to whatever work it is they’d like you to do. Dreadful people.

@CherryCocoa oh and also part timers are generally more expensive per head, which could annoy those higher up. Again, not the PR fault. I don’t mean they get paid more, but from an admin / sqft / HR headcount perspective

It’s funny you say you wouldn’t want to go part time why is that? Because most people would work part time if they could and that’s a reality

Obviously, the money is one factor, but actually, it's more than that for me. Work is good for my mental health - I like having some structure to my day and I enjoy the social contact with colleagues, and the intellectual stimulation. I don't cope well without some structure and easily get depressed.

I did work flexible hours when dd was younger, though - off in tithe afternoons and then back to work in the evenings, so that I had plenty of time with dd while she was awake. That worked well for me and also for my employer as they needed me around in the evenings anyway.

I can't speak for others, but I have definitely never felt jealous of PT staff.

I had a manager who was basically jealous of me being PT. He kept pushing me to do more days (there wasn’t the work anyway) and didn’t understand I would be worse off with childcare costs. He wanted me in to create inconvenience for me.
I am far far more efficient in a short day, but I have worked places they would rather you sat and did nothing than go home earlier.

I've never worked anywhere that the part time workers refuse to work a minute over their paid hours whilst the full time workers are doing loads of unpaid overtime. It sometimes seems to be expected that if you are part time you can take on the workload of a full time staff member but magically fit it into fewer hours.

Basically, anywhere I have worked with strong leadership, there is no resentment towards part timers. Anywhere with poor management, the full timers resent the part timers, the part timers resent the full timers and everyone resents the management.

For the first 7 years I was part time I stuck very rigidly to my set days and hours. Since my youngest started school in 2019, and with more wfh last year, I've tried to be more flexible so I am not dropping work on others and am still dialling into meetings on my days off sometimes and swapping things about to be helpful and to keep up. But tbh it's not going brilliantly and I think people would prefer to know where they are with me even if it meant covering more work. In my line of work being pt is exhausting, you're always on the back foot, never know what's going on and always passed over for the interesting stuff. I desperately want to work full time, and not for the money, but I know the children are better off having me around more. My manager never lets on that pt staff are difficult to manage and my colleagues are great. It's just me who has constant angst about it.

I worked part-time till youngest DC ( of 3) was 9. There were always comments from other employees, from clients, from everybody who thought it was their business what hours I worked. I always worked hard, worked more than my agreed hours, was very focused but people felt it was OK to comment.
From an employers point of view, I believe it is more expensive to employ 2 people, ( although not much) but they gain in terms flexibility of staffing, of staff loyalty and know-how, and in terms of sheer hard work and output. You can work flat out for 4 or 5 hours a day as an ongoing thing, but over a long day, your attention span will wilt a little. I was reading a study today about Denmark where they work shorter hours but with higher productivity than anywhere else.

I find it odd that would be the perception of part-time workers - a lot of the time people who work part time get a lot more than their “share” of the workload done, purely because they have fewer breaks, toilet trips, social interactions at work etc, and that’s not including the feeling of being pressed for time which can happen too.

@wellthatsunusual

I've never worked anywhere that the part time workers refuse to work a minute over their paid hours whilst the full time workers are doing loads of unpaid overtime. It sometimes seems to be expected that if you are part time you can take on the workload of a full time staff member but magically fit it into fewer hours.

Basically, anywhere I have worked with strong leadership, there is no resentment towards part timers. Anywhere with poor management, the full timers resent the part timers, the part timers resent the full timers and everyone resents the management.

It's not that they don't work a minute over their paid hours - it's that when work is at its most insane, salaried full-timers on 35 hours might end up doing an extra 15 hours, whereas salaried part-timers on 20 hours might do an extra 3.

If they did an extra 8.5 hours, I would feel less resentful about my 50-hour week.

If you work in a profession where people don't get paid for overtime, the amount of extra hours a full-time empl.oyee does vs a part-time employer is hugely disproportionate

But that works both ways. There are plenty of people who work PT hours who feel obliged to "just finish this off" in the evening/ on a day they're not paid for instead.

I think it comes down to people's experience of part time workers. In my last job, 2 heads of department were in their 40s with primary age children. They worked "from home" a couple of days a week (not replying to emails) were never in on Mondays which had an important weekly meeting, and had an air that basically they had done their time so their level of expertise should make up for their physical absence despite having full time line reports.

In my current role I set my own hours and do 3 days a week round my toddler. Another mum does the other 2. We are both overqualified but PT is like gold dust with a kid at nursery. I don't think employers realise what a big pool of talent there is if you add "flexible, hours negotiable" to an ad where possible - my employer checked about 4 times that I wouldn't be bored! And I don't just mean to appeal to parents but those with other caring responsibilities, people who volunteer some days, people who want to come out of retirement.

This is weird but.. it often doesn't really occur to people that you are getting paid significantly less than them, they only see the reduced hours compared to them. When I returned to work after my first maternity leave, I got into the habit of reminding my coworkers every time a part timer comment was made that I'd taken a 40% pay cut to be there less. And that worked.

It can be quite a juggling act and adds communication layers depending on your work. E.g. Need to discuss X urgently to progress Y. But Mary only works Mondays, Thursday and Friday. Ah but Jack and Jill have client meetings all Thursday and Friday. Ok let me speak to Overworked John see if he can do a favour and cover this once.
John does half of X and hands over to Mary to pick up on Monday. On Tuesday, after some moving parts and power politics, X has to be revisited urgently but Mary wont be in till Thursday...

@CurlyhairedAssassin

If you work in a profession where people don't get paid for overtime, the amount of extra hours a full-time empl.oyee does vs a part-time employer is hugely disproportionate

But that works both ways. There are plenty of people who work PT hours who feel obliged to "just finish this off" in the evening/ on a day they're not paid for instead.

I definitely agree with that. It's often expected that a part timer will work their hours and anything up to a full timers hours before they are even considered to have gone beyond what they are actually being paid for.

I'm paid for 25 hours a week but since lock down and working from home, I have mostly been working about 35 hours a week. I don't mind much because I like my job and like my employer, but tbh it is now at the stage where people expect me to be available all day every day when before it was accepted that I was part time.

If I'm being honest, yes I think part time is lazy. Many of us have children and a house to run and many other things we have to do in live but can still work full time

And as others mentioned...part timers tend to be after the tax credits (money not earned) rather than working for their money full time

"Obviously, the money is one factor, but actually, it's more than that for me. Work is good for my mental health - I like having some structure to my day and I enjoy the social contact with colleagues, and the intellectual stimulation. I don't cope well without some structure and easily get depressed."

Same for me. I like structure and routine and going to the office too, but if I could do it for fewer hours I definitely would. Not sure if I would cut days or work every day but cut some hours, but I'd have a similar structure or routine if I worked something like 10 to 2 every day.

Lots of people saying “it costs more to employ 2 people rather than one”. Just wanted to point out that it actually costs less. eg to employ 2 50% hours people on £20k each costs less than one 100% on £40k because employers NI is only paid over a threshold amount for each employee.

@Skylor

It can be quite a juggling act and adds communication layers depending on your work. E.g. Need to discuss X urgently to progress Y. But Mary only works Mondays, Thursday and Friday. Ah but Jack and Jill have client meetings all Thursday and Friday. Ok let me speak to Overworked John see if he can do a favour and cover this once. John does half of X and hands over to Mary to pick up on Monday. On Tuesday, after some moving parts and power politics, X has to be revisited urgently but Mary wont be in till Thursday...

Yes, it can get a bit complicated sometimes with contact persons.

Oh yes... worse than part time workers are part time bosses/department heads who dont deputise for fear of losing their power. They are also never around and think their "skills" entitles them to make decisions in exec committees for everyone else without ever being present for operational oversight or to listen to their direct reports. They sort of act like the CEO but dont work a fraction as much nor take any accountability.

@miserableannie

If I'm being honest, yes I think part time is lazy. Many of us have children and a house to run and many other things we have to do in live but can still work full time

Do you feel that way about students, people with poor health, people who are carers, and people who would like a full time job but can only find a part time one (to name but a few examples)? Or is the laziness accusation just for mothers?

@Pinkallium

Lots of people saying “it costs more to employ 2 people rather than one”. Just wanted to point out that it actually costs less. eg to employ 2 50% hours people on £20k each costs less than one 100% on £40k because employers NI is only paid over a threshold amount for each employee.

There are costs linked to just having members of staff though. Recruitment costs, the costs of keeping the personnel files, doing the payroll, etc. Every extra employee is work for HR to some extent. I'm not saying this is a reason not to have part time staff, but it is a thing.

Yep, second class citizens. The pro rated pay is always forgotten though apart from by the people who are living on it.

@miserableannie

And as others mentioned...part timers tend to be after the tax credits (money not earned) rather than working for their money full time

Perhaps you need to brush up on your research. You are aware that you can work full time, be a single parent and have 3 children a high earning partner.

Partner sudden dies and then circumstances change?

Also full time workers with children often claim benefits too. Did you not know that?

Being a mother isn't a disability