Don'​t be grateful for your part-time role

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“What do you mean!?” I hear you ask. Let me explain…

I’ve been thinking a lot about the underlying issues that lead to part-time roles turning into full-time work on less pay. 

And yes, a big cause of this problem is that there is often just too much work to be done in the time available. But it’s definitely not the only cause, and often not even the main one.

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day. Jen technically works 3 days week, but routinely works late into the night after the kids are in bed, and often does a few hours work on her days off too. 

On the one hand, she acknowledges this is far from ideal. But on the other hand, she feels really lucky that her company has agreed to the part-time arrangement, and that she can manage her work around her other commitments.

And that right there is the issue I’m seeing everywhere! An underlying belief that we should feel grateful and indebted to our organisations for ‘allowing’ us to work part time. Sound familiar?

So why is this an issue? Well, when we believe that our part-time work arrangement is a favour or a perk, we often find ourselves agreeing to take on more than we can manage, working on our days off, and failing to set proper boundaries.


The solution? A big part of it is realising that part-time work is a win:win for everyone, and that your organisation benefits greatly from its flexible work policies.


The solution? A big part of it is realising that part-time work is a win:win for everyone, and that your organisation benefits greatly from its flexible work policies.

We shouldn’t be seeing part-time work as inconvenient favour granted by kind employers, but rather as a smart strategy for retaining top talent, increasing diversity, enhancing wellbeing and improving performance.

Once you have this perspective, you’re:

  • much less likely to feel like you owe it to your organisation to give them as much of your time as possible each week;

  • much more likely to set, communicate and maintain your boundaries with conviction; and,

  • much more likely to be able to confidently move away from doing a full-time role on part-time pay.


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Belinda Morgan