To ask if you’d go part time if it was an option?

[Salarymallory]

If you’re full time, and we’re given the choice of going to 60% ie three days a week, would you take it? Pro rata salary BUT the actual financial impact wouldn’t be 40% reduction but actually only 20%.

So in a nutshell
60% of full time hours. Two days off a week.
Reduction in income of 20% and it doesn’t have any financial negative effect on your life at all.

Would you say yes
Or do you enjoy full time?

Part time all the way.

I recently did a stint at full time and I despised it.

Back to 3 days and am much much happier.

I am at director level.

If - and it's a very big IF - I only had to do the 'proper' bits of my job (i.e. strategic development/busdev), then fine, yeah.

However, there are too many other elements that need done from an operational/people PoV (people in particular tend to be notoriously ad hoc), and they would either never get done or the development side would slow down to such an extent that it would hinder the business, so no, I wouldn't.

Besides, I quite like my job and mostly enjoy doing it.

I'm already part-time, 65% working. I love it, should have done it sooner (assuming you can cope with the income reduction).

I work part time as in 28 hrs over 4 days, although basically it is a full time job for part time pay. I now make sure I do not do any work at home, just work the hours I am paid for.

Yes. I used to work three days a week and I could do more if the work was there that I had to complete. I enjoyed it and would like a job like that again. But I lived somewhere with very cheap subsidised childcare so I paid for full-time childcare and could be flexible

I would although I would probably do shorter hours over 4 days with 1 day off rather than just working 3 days as I think with primary school aged children this would give me a better balance.
Only if my role was reduced as well though. More to life than work!

Yep.
Of course.
Who wouldn't?

I've only worked part time since having kids. They are both late teens and I still do. I don't have any intention of ever working full time.

Planning for future is essential. But enjoying the moment is too. Who even knows if your'll make it to retirement.

I did 3 days for 15 years. Now doing 4. It's perfect.

@amymel2016

I went part time (5 days to 3.5) but found I was still doing the same amount of work for less money. So I now work full time but compressed hours, I do 3 long days and make up any extra hours in the evenings, it works for me as I get 2 days with my children but also get paid a full wage.

I wouldn't drop to part time for this reason - in my job, I'd still do all the same stuff just more efficiently for less money (and lower status).

I do get the view that you shouldn't live to work but by working FT since I left school I will be able to fully retire in my early 50s (not long now). Where as if I had worked part time when I could I would probably be working until state retirement age, health permitting.

You do need to factor in long term like pension reductions especially as I have seen it reported that lots of women seem to be in pension poverty at old age.

Great post oblo. Def agree with that. My dad had a stroke in his 60s. Retirement or enjoying it not a given. I dont live for my job !

I work 2 days a week but luckily it's a job share and the other person works the other 3 days so all work is covered every day so no trying to squeeze extra work into my days.

I wouldn't like part time if I was the only one doing my job as I would end up picking things up on my days off to make sure they get done!
My husband works shifts so it would be hard to work around his shifts with childcare if I worked FT

I’ve just declined full time- I took my job because it offered part time hours- but every week I am being pressed to do overtime. I am sticking to my guns though- I took part time for a reason.

I've done three days and now 2.5 compressed days for the last few years. My youngest is five. I may increase to four days in a few years as I've got my eyes on an early retirement. I've been paying into my pension since I was 16 and it's already a decent amount so I feel quite confident that we could manage. My husband likes me working part time. We get time together when the kids are at school now he's WFH, I do most housework, meal planning, shopping, making the house nice on my days off.
We live in a cheaper area (still lovely) and don't see the point in chasing endless money and stressing ourselves out when we already have more than enough money. Not a stealth boast. It's down to the choices we've made such as small mortgage.

All these people refusing to consider part time because they'll be forced to work 5 days in 4. Or work on their days off.

Never happened to me. Or anyone else I know who works part time. I only work the hours I'm paid to do. I don't work on my days off. None of my companies have expected me to do 5 days work in 3.

But enjoying the moment is too. Who even knows if your'll make it to retirement.

Some people enjoy their jobs 🤷‍♀️ also our full time salaries allow us more disposable income to do the things we enjoy on our time off, it's not all about saving for retirement.

I too adore my job.

I like my job and indeed work more overtime than I need to purely to help my colleagues. My DP has mentioned me going part time a few times and its an absolute no from me. We are not married. It would reduce my pension, if we were to split up I would be left with a part time job which would be VERY difficult and I really don't want to spend the extra time doing stuff about the house which is actually what would likely happen.

@TheJerkStore

No. I'd be concerned about my pension and I'd be worried that I'd end up doing a full time job but only getting paid for 3 days.

Besides I love my job

This. It totally depends on the job but in an awful lot of cases, it means being fully accountable for a fraction of the money. The communication side of it can be hard because - although some part timers stubbornly put on their out of office reply - the working week is in progress despite your own absence and some shit needs sorting before your next paid day. Not in all jobs,but in a lot of jobs!

Yes if I could afford it

Completely dependent on circumstances, finances and the actual job. I went down to 2 days a week after my son was born but I have to fit in a FT workload into those 2 days. Means 12-16 hour days and it's very stressful but, thankfully, I do like my job and earn a decent salary. I had wanted to go FT but they won't agree to term time only plus by all accounts they can pay for a PT salary when I'm doing the work of a FT employee.

Not now. I've done 3 days in the past when the kids were small and I always felt that I was a bit 'out the loop' at work. I didn't always pick up on things that had happened on days I wasn't at work. I also work in an industry where you take work home - and effectively I often spent my 2 days 'off' doing work. This felt like I was doing 5 days work for 3 days pay - albeit it freed up my evenings and weekends.

Also I'm heading towards retirement, and having taken time out to be SAHM with pre-schoolers I want to add more to my pension.