Full timers v Part timers

[user2389283]

If you work in a job where there are part timers and full timers do you find that there is a lot of animosity from the full timers towards the part timers?

Not from other colleagues as the vast majority of my service works part time - it suits the needs of the business. The only difficulty is management, who want total flexibility from us, so that those of us on a point 7 contract are pressured to work 5 days a week. Management can’t see that, to us, that really isn’t part time. It’s teaching and we should be available when we’re told to be!

No animosity for part timers here. We have all sorts or working patterns... Part time, condensed, flexi, holiday only, term time early. Some start early and finish early, others start late and finish late. So long as the work gets done no one minds what others are doing.

Interestingly most of the SMT work non standard patterns too and we have had hybrid working for years before Covid. It is seen as normal to not be in an actual office.... Even before Covid I would go and work from different spaces just for the devilment.

Term time only 🙄

In my previous job yes. I used to work in a company where when people actually showed up on left when they were supposed to (9-5), there were comments of ‘oh I didn’t know you worked part time’.
I didn’t know a single person who worked part time. There was no flexible working and I quit after not long because of that and horrible managers.
Hideous place!

No, there are more part timers than full time staff ( one of two for role, 5 part timers). Honestly, people assumed I’d go part time after having DD and I got quite a lot of negativity when I didn’t. I still get comments occasionally.

I'm a university lecturer and I work part time. I've found it straightforward because I'm teaching only, and most academics are used to splitting their time between teaching and research, so the workload is well structured for someone working part time. No animosity either. I'm quite flexible with switching my days around when it suits either me (for a school thing I want to attend) or my employer (for a meeting or training course or whatever).

They arent picking up " your work" if you dont work that day!

If she’s your colleague, rather than your manager, why don’t you decline the meeting and ask for an alternative time?

Of course people book meetings when they’re working, when else are they going to book them for, when they’re not working? If you are not working you’re free to decline it.

I haven’t noticed any animosity, it’s just an established arrangement that I am not at work on a specific day and we all make it work around that. I do 0.8 though, which is the minimum people at my level seem to manage to do. I’m the only part timer in my whole team of 30.

For sure at my workplace. But they often hire part time workers, then pressure you to go full time within a couple weeks. A lot of people couldn't say no despite wanting to. So I think a lot of it is that. I definitely don't feel like a proper team member for being part time.

I used to work with a woman who left at 2pm every day (for the school run). I think that arrangement was worse than if she'd been in for some full days and some days not at all. When the rest of us were working long hours on a project and knew we'd be in the office until 10pm it was a bit depressing to see her leave at 2pm. Of course she was getting paid less, but presumably only as a proportion of 'standard' hours whereas the rest of us worked a lot longer than that and she never did. I recognise this was the fault of the company culture rather than the woman herself.

I’m a PT teacher too and I totally get this.

I also get left out of lots of meetings and information is rarely passed on because the general consensus is that I am not serious about my career because I am part time.

The opposite is true but I am a single mum to three small kids, one has additional needs and ex-h is nowhere to be seen.

I’m PT because I have to be otherwise I’d crumble and ny kids would suffer so I find the digs at work really hurtful.

No animosity that I have seen. It can be annoying when trying to set up a meeting and times are limited but that is no different from annual leave.

No. It at all (teacher here)

No not at all - public sector

Not at all that should’ve said!

Seem to be in the minority here but YES there is. I'm a full-time employee, but currently on maternity leave. There's the 'part-timer' jokes that are meant to be lighthearted but you can tell they are having a dig. I think it is because at our place you are expected to do overtime and it's almost as if the full-time people expect that the part-time people should do more of it.

Yes. But only because there are 4 of us doing the same job and the boss allowed one to drop one day then another and refused to allow 2 others to do the same and didn't hire anyone to do the extra two days work so we have to cover those as well.

I think it depends on the sector - and how common part time working is in the organisation. Where I work currently, a lot of the operational staff are part time, and many of the management & office staff work 3 or 4 days ratehr than 5, so none of the "oh yes, its your day off" comments that I've had in similar organisations.

I don't think it's always managed well and that can create resentment where the full timers have to pick up the part timers work because they've been allocated too much for the hours they work for example.

I’m a teacher and in my department there’s me who is FT and two PT teachers so PT is the norm! I think I probably get a better deal as I don’t see how they do much less work than me. I also get my timetable done first and theres fit around me (although in practice we all know what we’re going to get anyway so that’s fine). We don’t share classes (or it’s at a bare minimum (so again not an issue). However as there’s one day where I’m the only person in there are times where I need to contact the others to ask things. It’s fine and totally understandable if they don’t want to respond on their non-working day and I don’t have any issue if they don’t but it can solve a lot of problems if they quickly answer an email for me sometimes rather than leave it to the next day.

It is hard in a job where staying after hours is expected if , for instance, the project has to be delivered and there's been a hitch etc. Morning only staff don't pick up on any of that and end up being resented a bit. (And no, not everyone cannot choose those hours)

I work in retail now and am part time, just expected to be a sickness/annual leave cover for all the full time staff... so some weeks (school holidays in particular) I'm working full time hours anyway. So can see the resentment from this side now.

No, however I'm a part timer who still does the same amount of work as a full..... That's what I find in my line of work

Not anymore. I was part time in my previous job.

I worked in an assessment centres (for a type of benefit). When a 'problem' claimant came in, e.g drunk, high, shouting, swearing and being aggressive, a few other staff would try and convince the receptionist that I should be assigned them as being part time I had to put up with it less. Luckily the receptionist didn't and had her own fair system for it.