How I Went to Part-Time Work

Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

One of the direct benefits of my interest and application of productivity principles is that I work part time.

In this article, I will tell you how I applied productivity principles to get to the point of working part time, as well as thing to consider if you want to pursue this yourself.

Why I Work Part Time

I work 30 hours a week. Although I enjoy less working hours, the main reason I decided to pursue part-time work is that I didn’t want to put my daughter in before- and after-school programs.

When my daughter entered first grade, I wanted to be there to put her on the bus in the morning, and also get her off the bus in the afternoon. Since I worked about 10 minutes away from home, I could manage this by working 6 hours and taking only 30 minutes for lunch. When she transferred to the magnate school that gave me an extra hour, allowing me a full lunch hour as well as some extra time during the day.

Why I Was Allowed To Work Part Time

First and foremost, I was allowed to work part time because I have a solid reputation as a steady, productive worker. I do not work in a client-facing job, and my field (web programming) relies more on results than hours.

At the time I went part-time, I was a contractor. I had been at my client for a year, and with my company for 10. I approached my company first, and then my client. By working together, we were able to come up with a reasonable solution that worked for all of us.

The Solution

The end result was not without compromise, of course. My employer and client didn’t want me on an erratic schedule, and my employer was initially skeptical of the 30 hours. The compromise was 30 hours, spread over the 5 day week. I would be in the office during the time when most people were, and would be able to respond as necessary. My client was wholeheartedly supportive of the 30 hours, because as the VP said, “I can get the same amount of work out of her in 30 hours that I can get out of some of my other employees in 50.” It was cost effective for him.

There were some drawbacks: I ended up becoming an hourly employee. With my company at the time, that meant I didn’t get paid time off. I had to re-negotiate my hourly rate, which my employer didn’t care for at all, since it was cutting into the 50% per hour profit they were making on me. Since I work in a field in which I am not eligible for overtime, any time up to an over 40 hours is billed at a straight amount, even on holidays and weekends, should I have to work. And because I am hourly, that means I have to fill in timesheets, and keep track that I am getting paid appropriately.

How To Position Yourself For The Move

If you would like to work part time, there are some things you need to do well in advance of making the request.

• Be in the job for a while. Not having a history with the company is a sure way to make the request fail. Make sure you have had a good history with the company, and that your record is spotless: no reprimands, no excessive time off, and be on time every day.
• Be productive. This means no surfing, no chatting in the break room, little socializing. When you are working, you need to be working, and not wasting time.
• Be organized. Being organized keeps you from wasting time on things. Demonstrate this by being able to find things quickly and easily.
• Keep track of your productivity. Your employer might not notice until you point it out, but you need to be able to quantify that you are doing your job more efficiently than those around you.
• Be reliable. Being there to do your job, getting things done when you say they will be done, and handling change gracefully will go a long way.
• Be flexible. If there are times when your job requires extra hours, you might need to be available to work extra time.

Some Things To Consider

Part time work sounds really great. After all, you will have more free time. But here are some things you need to consider:

• You will not make as much money. No employer will continue to pay full-time rates for part time work.
• You might be asked to be part-time salaried. If this is the case, be sure to have in writing how working more than your allotted time will be paid out, or you could end up working 40 hours for a 30 hour paycheck.
• You might lose your benefits. This could include health insurance, paid time off, retirement plans or other perks.
• You might lose time off. In exchange for the working less, your employer may wish to limit the amount of longer breaks you can take.
• You might have more paperwork. You might be required to submit timesheets, or possibly two or three different timesheets.
• You will become very good friends with the payroll person. In the three jobs I have worked as a part-time worker, I have had mishaps with pay in two of the jobs. These range from incorrect hours, to being paid time-and-a-half, to being switched to salaried full time classification without my knowledge. You will have to keep on top of your paycheck.

How To Ask

In order to make this work, you need a well-thought out plan. Write out the answers to any questions you think your employer might ask, such as:

• How many hours will you work per week? Know what you are asking for. Have a firm number in mind that you will work each week.
• When will you work? Your employer needs to know when you are going to be available. Will it be every day? Will it be certain days a week?
• Why do you want to work part time? It needs to be a solid reason; “I can’t stand this place” is not a good reason.
• What will you do about emergencies? Are you able to work from home in the evenings? The occasional weekend?
• What are you willing to concede? You will not be paid the same amount. However, are you willing to go hourly? Are you willing to take a lower-than-percentage salary to make this work? Have the numbers worked out.
• What will happen if your request is not granted? Are you willing to find another job where this is possible? Hopefully you will have established yourself as an invaluable resource and you will be able to give specific points on what they would be losing should you decide to leave.

When you ask, make sure you schedule a meeting and include those who would make the decision. If you have to work your way up the chain of command, enlist those who will support you to help, if they are in the line of supervision. Do not do this passing in the hallway. Make sure everyone knows that you have thought this through and you are committed to making it work, one way or another.

Making It Work

What I have found is that it took some adjustment to part-time work.

I have to set an alarm to remind me to leave the office on time; otherwise I will work past, since there is no one else leaving at that time. I have had to put pseudo-appointments in my calendar, because people were consistently scheduling me for meetings after my working hours.

I have had to be very patient over some very major screw-ups with my classification, status, and hours. This has taken many, many phone calls to payroll people. I have had to stay on top of the timesheet approval process, sending extra emails to remind my supervisors to approve my timesheets.

When I took the job I am currently in, I lost all my benefits, including health insurance. I had to find a private insurer for my family. I also had to switch to unpaid time off, and if I choose to take time off, I do not get paid. As a result of that, I also figured out what the hourly rate would be to cover that, and negotiated for that amount.

On the plus side, I have found people very cautious about asking me to work extra. They don’t hesitate with salaried staff, but when it comes to me, they are very aware of my time limits and how much extra it will cost them for me to work more hours.

One Last Thought

Working part time is a privilege, not a right. I am very conscious of that, and I make sure that I am consistently productive and a model employee.

In addition, I am also very closed-mouthed about my situation. Most people outside of my supervisor chain are not aware that I am part time, and I do not broadcast it. Only the ones that pay attention figure it out. It wouldn’t do for me to be sowing unrest among the masses

Working part time has been a great benefit to me and my family. It allows me to bring in steady income while still providing quality time with my daughter. Even with its drawbacks, I am glad I made the switch.

Do you work part time? Have you thought about it? Would you consider it? Share below.

Photo by bibendum84. Licensed under Creative Commons.