Part-time workers feel trapped in their jobs because of a lack of good quality part-time vacancies.
Research conducted for the Timewise Foundation said 77% of part-time workers felt stuck in their roles and 81% were doing a job at the same level or lower than their last full-time position.
Respondents reported reaching a “plateau” in their careers, with 73% saying they had not been promoted once since working fewer hours. Nearly two thirds of respondents (63%) said they felt they would need to work more hours to be promoted, with 22% saying they would not even expect to be promoted while working part-time.
Just over half the respondents said they felt as valued as their full-time colleagues (54%). However, over a third (34%) said they did not, and 11% said they felt “invisible” in their organisations.
Seven in 10 of those questioned said if they were looking for part-time opportunities now they would expect to “backslide”, accepting a job with lower skills levels and pay. Of those, nearly a third said they would expect to slide back at least 2 levels.
Researchers for The Flexibility Trap questioned 1,000 part-time workers from different backgrounds, with salaries ranging from £20,000 to £100,000 (FTE).
Timewise co-founder Karen Mattison said: “More than a quarter of UK workers are now part-time or flexible, with most needing to fit their careers with something else in life. Yet millions are hitting a wall at key points in their careers, when they want to progress or move to a new role.”
She added: “Britain’s part time workers need to know that there are forward thinking businesses out there that do offer a future where flexibility is no inhibitor to success.”
Respondents were overwhelmingly in favour of making flexible working opportunities clearer, with 99% saying employers should state their willingness to consider flexibility in job advertisements.
Timewise, which promotes part-time working, is launching a power list of 50 men and women working less than 5 days a week. The list is supported by Ernst & Young and will be published later this year.
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/invisible-lens/
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