Can part-time be full-value?

Part-time work is in decline.

Isn’t this strange? Flexible work is something we’ve all embraced, or so the story goes. 

In reality, we’ve embraced hybrid work (for around half the workforce), not flexible work. Flexible work is about choices in hours, days and/or place of work. With our focus on ‘place’ have we overlooked the potential of full flex?

Most employers want to be perceived as flexible. Unfortunately, the reality often fails to deliver. This is called ‘Flex Washing’. We sing from the rooftops in recruitment adverts, the careers page of our website and our policies about how flexible we are, but the reality doesn’t match up. 

A few ‘flex washing’ stories were recently shared with me. The person in each story was only talking to openly ‘flexible’ employers and looking for a new role at four (standard) days per week:

When I asked about working four days the response was, “I haven't even thought about it - it's a busy role”.

I asked about working four days per week. They said their preference was for 5 days per week. I got called back to schedule an interview. I checked again on the 4 days and they said they'd have to call me back. They came back quickly to say 4 days compressed was possible but not part-time hours.

These could just be a couple of hand picked anecdotes to make a point. So, what do the stats say?

• The NZ workforce has seen a decline in part-time work over the last decade. 22.7% in 2012 to 19.5% in 2022

• The NZ public service has seen a much more dramatic decline with part-time work at 7.2% in 2012 down to 3.8% in 2022

Part of the problem is in how we define part-time work. Under the current definition many part-time people are counted as full-time. Part-time is defined as someone who works less than 0.75 of a full-time equivalent (FTE), or in common terms, less than 3.5 days per week.

Most people I know who consider themselves part-time (including the stories I’ve just shared) work four days per week, or 0.8 FTE. From that perspective we are under counting our part-time workforce.

Is the part-time picture actually much better than the stats lead us to believe?

Probably, to some extent, but that doesn’t explain the stories. If it’s actually much more common to work 0.8 FTE why are people being blocked on that basis?

What’s the issue that apparently flexible employers have with part-time work?

Belinda Morgan is a specialist in this area, with her book ‘Solving the Part-Time Puzzle’

One compelling aspect she identifies is the negative impact of ‘hustle culture’ on part-time workers.

Working in a culture where long hours are highly valued means it can be really hard to establish the value of part-time work. Here in NZ we’ve got a deeply ingrained habit of working long hours.

This is what we need to tackle if we’re to ever become truly flexible. The flex-washing experiences damage how we’re perceived as an employer, as well as the career prospects of people with the potential to add real value to our organisation through high-quality part-time work.

How do we change that? And, why would we bother?

Let’s start with ‘Why bother?’

We still have a tight labour market, so you’ll attract and retain the right people more easily if you offer high-quality part-time roles. Like the person in these stories, you can be highly skilled and attractive to an employer, but not be able to add your highest value contribution if they want an ‘all-or-nothing’ worker.

From Professor Jarrod Haar’s burnout risk study our risk of burnout became so high by the end of 2021 and still remains higher than pre-pandemic levels. People want a different balance so they can sustain their energy for work and for everything else in their lives over the longer-term. Let’s look further than the immediate resourcing need if we want to attract and retain a high-value workforce for the long haul.

If you move first on this, you’ll get more of the benefits. Don’t wait for other employers to move first, because they’ll attract and retain the best people ahead of everyone else.

OK then, so what about the ‘how’?

When a role needs filling, consider how it can be reshaped as one or two part-time roles. You’ll open yourselves up to that workforce that is desperate for more high-quality part-time work so that they can make their best value contribution. 

Consider job sharing, especially for large, senior positions that work best as a full-time (plus!) role. I’ve written about this before, but essentially you’re building in resilience, specifically in the toughest leadership roles in the organisation. You attract two great people who are always fresh, learning and performing at their best.

When you spot flex-washing behaviour in your organisation, find a way to show people the contradiction between what we’re saying and what we’re doing, while still enhancing their mana and yours.

Part-time as full value

We need to reframe part-time work as full-value. Value from the full range of our talented workforce. Value from our potential as an employer of choice. We’ll reap the rewards of higher levels of productivity and employee wellbeing if we deliberately focus our flex offer to include high-quality, part-time work.