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 also have children by the way. But do work full time

I think some people are a bit jealous of part time workers

@miserableannie

Being a mother isn't a disability

Who equated it with a disability?

I should probably have worded it better. Some people's circumstances I would have a different view on entirely but for the most part yes I think it's lazy

@Gwenhwyfar

"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.

Exactly if you want structure you can always set an alarm and find a hobby to do or something.

I once hired a part time personal assistant, which worked for me. We were working in financial services in the type of environment where although you have a specified hours per week in the contract, it also states that it may require extra hours at times in order to get the job done that day, even the PAs.

The other PAs didn’t like the fact that my PA got to clock off at 2pm on the dot every day, she didn’t work one second more than was in her contract, whereas they, and in fact most people, were expected to do unpaid overtime in the busy periods.

Seen it, felt it, haven’t go promotion because of it - despite the fact I did more work in my 30 hours than others did in their 40 hours. Just have to live with it.

@LookMoreCloselier

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.

Yes but you’re working less? I find it odd that people would not consider your lower pay for less hours!

I think it all depends on industry and company and type of role. Where I am, part timers refuse to go over their hours, often meaning full timers pick up the work and stress. They provide no flexibility at all, yet expect the company to be flexible towards them. We have people working 3 days a week, choose to have a dentist appointment on their working day (appreciate can be tricky getting one!) so don’t come in for the morning, yet they refuse to help out in busy times. A full timer worker on 40 hours will often work 50/60 but part timers will never work over their assigned 20. They will then moan when they’re not considered for a promotion.

I accept not all part timers behave like this, but the large majority of them have in the places I’ve worked. Some will often ask to change their days off at the last minute which screws up meetings we have planned. It has a huge effect on the projects we are working on, and the worker then gets mad at us.

Part time workers are often more expensive too, per head (eg insurance, HR costs, equipment, office space) which I’m sure is a bugger for employers considering the above behaviour. I’m sure you are not like that though, but I can certainly understand why some PT are given a hard time

Our head used to moan to staff and governors about there being to many PT staff and how difficult it was to manage. Then covid hit and she keeps saying that one of the reasons our school was so resilient was that the part time staff meant there wasnt so much cover to find if someone had to isolate and thst people would step up and help out. Even in admin there were 4 people that knew how to do things not just one person.

So there are difficulties but there can be benefits too. Part timers need to sell the plus sides.

At our work P/T just do there set hours coat on and finish bang on time full timers left with remaining work we don't have to option to clearing off bang on our finish time

Why do employers allow staff to eg go to the dentist on a working day if they are only part time? All of my part time contracts have said that things like that must be scheduled in non work hours unless it is unavoidable (eg a hospital appointment, or an emergency appointment with a dentist or GP for a medical emergency. Not just a doctor's appointment or a dentist's checkup)

@wellthatsunusual

I've not experienced this personally but I've been astounded over the years by how many people think that if you go part time you still retain your full time salary. So they think that women (it's usually women) go part time and are being paid the same as full time staff for less work.

Nobody can seriously think this. What they may think is that the part-time person is being supported by someone else in the home and so not necessarily living in poverty so it can still be seen as a situation to be jealous of.

Hi,
In my experience management are less keen on part timers as it makes their job harder - they hold a meeting Monday morning, say, and person A can't make it as they're part time and don't work Mondays and it annoys them. There's training on a Friday and the part timer B can't make it as they are part time or expect to be paid extra to attend. It is easier for them if everyone is there all the hours.

I'm part time myself and also a manager and the above views don't represent my own, just my experiences of some others.

@StephenBelafonte

A huge proportion of women work part time just to receive tax credits in my experience. It's not the job they want, it's the tax credits and all other associated benefits that come with it. I'm not saying everyone, but a sizable majority.

It puts people like the OP at a disadvantage because inevitably, we all get tarred with the same brush.

What exactly is the problem with this? Wo cares what their motivation is, as long as they are working, pulling their weight and completing their assigned tasks? Hardly anyone works because they "love" their job, people work to earn an income. So what if working part-time puts them in a better position financially and allows them to take care of their children. Surely that is what quality of life is about?

@Katyy

Jealousy. Made worse where I work because all the part time staff have been furloughed while the full timers carry on poor things. 😉

oh dear......

Nobody can seriously think this.

Astoundingly they do. I remember a conversation with a man who was ranting because a female colleague had negotiated part time hours after having a baby. He said it was awful because she was now only working three days a week but was getting paid the same as him. It took some time to convince him that if she now worked 3 days a week, she was only getting paid 3/5 of what he was getting paid. He admitted that he had always thought that women had a legal right to retain their full salary, he hadn't understood that retaining your salary only meant retaining it for the hours you now work. He's not the only person I have met who thought that.

"A full timer worker on 40 hours will often work 50/60"

That's breaking the Working Time Directive if it's done all year round and those staff are not managers or have signed an opt-out. Sounds like you think a good employee is one who can be exploited.

"What exactly is the problem with this? Wo cares what their motivation is, as long as they are working, pulling their weight and completing their assigned tasks? Hardly anyone works because they "love" their job, people work to earn an income. "

Exactly. I work to pay my rent. If I won the lottery, you wouldn't see my "dedication to the job" for dust!

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

Short-sighted and insular. You have no idea what other colleagues have going on in their lives unless you know them intimately. I have found out things about various colleague's personal lives that I had no idea they had been going through because they didn't talk about it to all and sundry day in day out. How do you know that your colleagues didn't go part time because they have mental health difficulties, a degenerative medical condition, struggle with ongoing PND, have a parent or sibling with cancer, whose child has a SEN or is suicidal, or whose other half works 70 hours weeks routinely or who is a widowed parent who has NO support from anyone else and?

FGS, it's not just about running a house and caring for kids. I have no idea what most of my colleagues are dealing with in their personal lives. It's none of my business. Even if one wanted to go part time so they could do nice things like go out to lunch and on more holidays, who am I to judge? They or their partner might have been given a terminal diagnosis, or had another close call which helped them evaluate how they spent their life.

FFS, this is the second thread I've read today where a complete lack of insight has been displayed by a poster.

"He admitted that he had always thought that women had a legal right to retain their full salary, he hadn't understood that retaining your salary only meant retaining it for the hours you now work. He's not the only person I have met who thought that."

I can't believe people are that thick.
I can imagine someone seeing a job ad and not reading the 'pro rata' part. Was he mixing up with maternity leave, which some women do get their full wage for in some companies, I think.

I haven't really experienced this. But I work in a sector where almost everyone is part time as the work freelance or do multiple jobs. As work is precarious.

@Gwenhwyfar

"He admitted that he had always thought that women had a legal right to retain their full salary, he hadn't understood that retaining your salary only meant retaining it for the hours you now work. He's not the only person I have met who thought that."

I can't believe people are that thick.
I can imagine someone seeing a job ad and not reading the 'pro rata' part. Was he mixing up with maternity leave, which some women do get their full wage for in some companies, I think.

In my experience it's a really common misconception that all women get 100% of their salary for a full year on maternity leave. I've had multiple conversations where people complain about it being unfair that they can't get a year off fully-paid but women who have babies do - this has been both men and women.

Human nature is to forget the positive and remember the negative. So yes, it can be more difficult to schedule meetings and there may be a little more management time but on the other hand part time staff often work additional cover hours, don’t take time off for ‘appointments’ and often have less time off sick

@Gwenhwyfar

"He admitted that he had always thought that women had a legal right to retain their full salary, he hadn't understood that retaining your salary only meant retaining it for the hours you now work. He's not the only person I have met who thought that."

I can't believe people are that thick.
I can imagine someone seeing a job ad and not reading the 'pro rata' part. Was he mixing up with maternity leave, which some women do get their full wage for in some companies, I think.

No, we discussed it at length. He thought that his female colleague retained her full salary. And that his other female colleague who worked only one day a week also retained her full salary. He had never heard of pro rata pay and didn't believe that such a thing could possibly exist.

Also you get paid for what you work. It is none of my buisness what people do out of work. Whether that's looking after children, the home, relatives, other work, volunteering or watching Netflix.

Re the lazy thing. I've seen many full time people not put in loads of effort everyday. So I often think I am very productive in a few days a week in a way I couldn't be in 5 days a week.