Is it me, or are workplaces actually going backwards now? Where are the quality part-time roles?
Moving in the right direction?
I remember in the 80s and 90s that job shares were considered the way forward – a way to allow women (in particular) to have access to good jobs in the workplace while balancing caring responsibilities. Well, you still don’t see many of them advertised.
Then technology came along that allowed people to work and learn remotely, although it took the pandemic to force most organisations to get up to speed. This provided more flexibility, entrusting employees to juggle work and life needs more effectively, with the payoff being workers who were happier, less stressed, more productive and more diverse. Flexibility of working became more feasible, but the quality part-time roles were still rare.
The move to a 4-day week started getting traction, with the trials and evidence showing that productivity improved by working less. I hoped that might help level the playing field a little, and allow more part-time work. And then the backlash started, with people ignoring the evidence and instead insisting that ‘more hours = more productivity’.
Or not moving at all?
I moved away from employed work a long time ago, for various reasons but one of them was that I wanted the flexibility to manage my health and wellbeing. That, for me, also meant not working full-time.
I’m very happy with what I’m doing now (though I had to go self-employed to get the balance and control I needed). But I also have skills I’m not using and capacity for more. And things change; industries come and go. So I always keep an eye out for opportunities to use my skills, learn new ones and ride the changes.
When I look at job boards now, I’m surprised how much the pool of flexible opportunities has dwindled since the pandemic. There are more roles advertised as ‘hybrid’ rather than remote, since the RTO push, meaning employees have to live close to their place of work. (But, of course, this means that the ‘pool of talent’ has also dwindled for employers, who are restricting their search to a small geographical area.)
But what shocks me still, is the lack of professional part-time work available, whether that be employed or freelance. This seems not to have budged at all. The majority of my experience has been in tertiary education, and it stuns me that all roles I’m seeing are all advertised as full-time. You have the right to ask for flexibility, but not for fewer hours. There’s not a hint of ‘we are open to job shares or part-time’ in the job posting. Is there still a belief that if you need or want to work part-time you’re somehow not as capable, committed, or worthy? Are employers unwilling to think beyond full-time, 9-5.30?
Those who teach, can’t do?
There’s an added issue now for me. I’m currently looking at roles educating and mentoring apprentices. For most of these, it would benefit the learners if I continue to practise the skill that I’m teaching. In my case, that would mean coaching privately as a side-business while also being employed to support coach apprentices. If only full-time employment is available, that means working considerably more than full-time.
I saw an EPA Assessor role advertised recently: 40 hours full-time plus the expectation that you would have your own coaching practice on the side. When do you sleep/eat/do chores/have a life/rest? And that’s not to mention the expectation of ongoing reflection, CPD and compulsory supervision if you’re a coach. And can you really coach effectively if you’re constantly working? I, for one, don’t want to model that to trainee coaches.
Workers are overwhelmed and stuck
On the other side, I talk to many employees in my coaching conversations who are struggling with overwhelm; they’re being asked to do too much, too quickly, and forced to work to a lower standard which leaves them dissatisfied. There are also people who are stuck in roles, even when they’ve outgrown them and could offer more, because they have negotiated fewer hours, or remote or other flexible working, and they know they would struggle to find the same conditions elsewhere.
Why is part-time important?
Guess who suffers when quality part-time work isn’t available? The women, those with caring responsibilities, those with physical or mental health issues, older workers, and more. We are going backwards on EDI and people are leaving the workforce. And that means the employers are suffering too, by missing out on talent.
So let’s not forget in all the talk of flexibility and EDI the option of skilled, professional, part-time work. It gets more highly capable people working who want to work, and opens up a pool of talented workers. Is it really so hard to split a full-time job in half?
Employers should be offering this option by default.