Part-time and Years of Experience
Employers in the United States are being asked to adapt to new circumstances as a function of a labor market in transition. As each year passes, it will become even more important for companies to access non-traditional talent pools and adapt to working with non-traditional hours. Considering the increasing number of Americans who are currently being forced into part time work and the number of other skilled individuals who are available, many business managers are seeking ways to tap the highly skilled part-time pool.
One segment of the workforce that is particularly amenable to these varied options for employment are high-skilled workers with family commitments. Playing a significant role in family life – school events, housekeeping responsibilities, and other demands inside and out of the home – can render a valuable portion of the workforce unable to sustain a full-time career, yet this portion of the population has skills that employers need on an increasingly frequent basis. Precisely because they have spent the time and money to gain the skills employers find valuable, they are in the best position to appreciate a company that can make it possible for them to contribute, whether it be on a traditional part-time basis, or via some of the other options that are becoming more prevalent, such as flex-time, telecommuting or job-sharing. Once they join a company, their loyalty will be complemented by their skill set, as the needs they meet for a company are by definition not time-intensive, but instead a function of their technical skills and experience.
Part-time workers are also less likely to be cut in lay-offs, since their costs to employers are significantly less considerable than those of full-time employees. In using part-time employees, companies reduce liability for unemployment costs, avoiding an increase in expenditures with no returns. But the less apparent advantages are potentially ones that can make an employer more adaptable, and better able to adjust to rapid changes in economic and hiring conditions. Retaining trained, experienced personnel not only avoids hiring unskilled workers, thereby reducing burdens placed on HR and personnel departments, but also reduces time spent on training itself. When a business experiences an upturn in volume, having experienced workers on the payroll who are at part-time status provides a pool to draw from to cover additional needs.
While all these advantages for employers are compelling in and of themselves, the fact that so many of the part-time workers in the US
The benefits of using a part-time work force include flexibility for the company, decreases in labor costs, and the addition of people with valuable skills without a heavy price tag. As the pressures on employers become more immediate and acute, the greater range of options available with the use of part-time employment will only increase in its appeal, and the logic of the situation enhances this appeal.
