Across Britain, the Part Time Revolution has been gathering momentum. At the start of 2016, The Office for National Statistics reported that there are over 8 million people working part time (P/T), 177,000 more than the previous year.
Of course, not all of those in part time employment are there by choice. Many people feel that disabilities or duties of care prevent them from entering the full time job market. As a result, they often have to settle for lower status, part time work which leaves them feeling overqualified and underemployed.
However, there are now approximately 5.1 million part time workers who have actively chosen to shorten their working week to better suit their personal lives. As companies begin to adapt to this shift in employee work ethic, the future of recruitment and the working world is set to change.
Sectors like Further Education are better suited to P/T work
Not every industry or career path is ideally suited to allow for part time workers. Agency work, Further Education and hospitality industries are more viable than labour or financial jobs.
Further education jobs site AoC Jobs note that FE is one of the sectors which allows for the most flexible working hours. Lecturers, Governors and apprenticeship teachers have an advantage over pre-College schools in that work hours and days more in tune with a parent. Helpfully, this applies to both sexes, where either party can take part-time roles after maternity/paternity leave.
Part time employees significantly reduce business expenditure
The Part Time Revolution is changing understanding and perceptions of the recruitment process on both sides of the table; for employer and employee.
Since the recession, companies have been reevaluating their costs and searching for opportunities to save money. While they still need highly skilled, experienced people, they don’t necessarily need them 5 days a week. By offering part time or flexi-hour senior positions, they are able to reduce expenditure without damaging their business.
Among the first to spot the subsequent gap in the market for high achieving professionals wishing to reduce their hours was the recruitment agency Timewise, who specialise in ‘talent through flexibility’. Since it’s launch in 2012, the agency has seen interest in working and hiring part time soar, with a notable increase in the number applications from senior level business men.
Hiring part time staff can help your business benefit from untapped talent
There are now more men in part time work than have ever been previously recorded. As with many female part-time employees, a lot of the demand for part time work stems from parents who want or need more time at home with their children and families. This doesn’t apply exclusively to parents of young children, but also to those with kids in their late teens and early twenties who will soon be moving out of their family homes.
Of the reported million men now in part time work, 34% were in the higher tax bracket. This trend is a radical departure from the traditional association between part time work and low status, poorly paid jobs, often carried out by women.
As there more highly skilled men and women opt into part time work, the labour market is changing providing companies with more scope to hire advanced professionals that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Flexible recruitment is crucial in unlocking this potential. Creating a win-win situation in which the hiring company has a stronger workforce and part time employees have the chance to work at a level appropriate to their ability, with the possibility for promotion and development.
