ORLANDO, FL (Ivanhoe Newswire) — With more and more people looking for a better work-life balance, the 40-hour or more work week is slowly becoming a thing of the past. According to new data from the labor department, one-point-two million part-time workers were added to the labor market at the start of 2023. Most of these were people who went part time by choice.
But going part-time is not all it is cracked up to be. Terrible work-life balance, increased burnout, and long-lasting job dissatisfaction were some of the driving forces behind the great resignation.
“Most of us don’t have that luxury of taking an unpaid break,” says Rachael O’Meara, MBA, MA, ACC.
More and more people are opting to go part-time. Today, more than 16 percent of the workforce is made up of part-time workers. However, going part time can hurt your career down the road. A study from the University of Austin at Texas found that people who listed part-time jobs on their resume had less than a five percent callback rate, while those who had full-time jobs had a 10 percent callback rate. Other studies found part-time workers had fewer growth opportunities within the company that they worked for.
To make your part-time job work for you, make a visible presence in the office by attending company outings and sending emails on your day off. Also, use your spare time to improve your industry-relevant skills by taking a college course and remind your colleagues that just because you are part time, does not mean your work performance will suffer.
The University of Austin at Texas study surprisingly found that only men suffered severe consequences when it came to looking for a new job if they had a recent part-time job on their work history. Women with a part-time work history were twice as likely to get a callback than men in a part-time job. Researchers are not sure why there is this gender disparity.
