A quarter of the labour force works part-time and – not much of a surprise – 80% of these workers are female.
Part-time can often seem like the less good solution, a stopgap, a step down in terms of using your skills and in terms of your earning power.
But now that so many services and industries are 24/7, the arguments for flexibility in the workplace are stronger than ever.
Flexible working can produce a lot of benefits such as improved output, lower absence rates, higher morale and it can make it easier to recruit and retain quality employees.
When people have the flexibility to fit their personal commitments more easily into their work schedules they feel more in control of their lives and their job satisfaction is likely to increase as a result.
There’s evidence that flexibility is more valued by employees than a pay rise so it could be a money saver for companies, too.
But if you have female staff in senior roles, you lose on your investment in their skills and experience if they’re forced into more junior roles because they need to work part-time.
Of course, implementing flexible working takes planning and good communication to succeed. It’ll also need a flexible and supportive manager and colleagues and being clear about roles and responsibilities. And performance will need to be assessed by results rather than simply by whether the employee did the required number of hours in the office. But surely that’s a better way of evaluating in any case, isn’t it?
The culture of the organisation will need to change, too. If it’s previously favoured “command and control”, it’ll need to move towards involvement and coordination. You have to be able to trust staff to leave them alone to get on with things.
Tip: Even if the job you’re applying for is full-time, you may be able to negotiate for reduced hours if you’re able to show them how it’ll benefit them.
