How to win at the part-time ‘game’ in academia

Why does working part-time come with such a bad rap? After all, part-time working could help to boost our national economy, research suggests. Worldwide employment website Indeed states that part-time workers are more motivated and productive because they work fewer hours and have more time to recover. At a personal level the advantages include a better work-life balance, more time for leisure or other interests and more opportunities to take up other voluntary or paid work.

The university sector is generally considered to be more accommodating of part-time work than most private-sector organisations. At the time of writing, out of more than 5,000 higher education jobs advertised on Jobs.ac.uk, approximately 14 per cent are offered on a part-time basis.

Working part-time is, by and large, what women do. More than a third (38 per cent) of women in paid employment in the UK work part-time, according to government figures. The figure for men is 14 per cent. 

One of the issues is this combination of gender and part-time status. Men outnumber women in senior academic positions within and beyond the UK. Although around 40 per cent of senior academic staff are female, an increase from 33 per cent a decade previously, women comprise only 28 per cent of professors.

• Resource collection: How to progress in your academic career
• Questions for thinking about your career vitality
• Resource collection: What can be done to improve work-life balance?

It is not only lack of promotion opportunities that part-time workers face. Here are three further ways that part-timers lose out to their full-time colleagues:

1. Fewer work-place benefits such as full conference funding;
2. In some cases, effectively working full-time for part-time pay;
3. Routinely missing out on professional development opportunities and networking events that can advance a career.

To add insult to injury, there is a ubiquitous assumption that a part-time member of staff is in some way less committed to their role or institution even when individual case studies or broader research suggests the contrary.

Seven strategies to challenge prejudice and succeed as a part-timer

1. If you are making a transition from full-time employment, allow yourself time for this change. You might realise you need a newly sharpened, focused understanding of what your priorities are and what will yield the most results – for example, the 80/20 approach.

2. Keeping your eye on your “why”, your purpose and your values will help with the fear of missing out on events, training opportunities, conversations and meetings. If you look closely, you will realise that only a few of these make a difference. 

3. Identify opportunities that will help you progress and raise your profile, and build your schedule around these. This could be extra leadership roles, activities that increase your visibility or particular projects that capitalise on your strengths.

4. Seek your managers’ support in securing these opportunities. Don’t be afraid to manage up. Reflect on what you can do to help your manager see your strengths. Visibility can be a challenge for part-time staff, especially if you work from home. Be present and make your contributions noticed when you are there.

5. Set firm boundaries to avoid “work creep”. Manage colleagues’ expectations through clear communication about availability. Reframe what success looks like and do not compare your success to your colleagues’. Perfectionism and part-time work are a bad combination.

6. Build a support network and find those in leadership positions who will advocate for you. Familiarise yourself with relevant policies and procedures that will help you understand what support is available and what the expectations are (institutional and in the sector).

7. Most importantly, be proud to be part-time! You have chosen a less-trodden path. You are a pioneer, a role model. It is your example that pushes the boundaries of the labour market and shapes the future of work.

There is so much to value in part-time working both in terms of quality of life and economic benefits. Movements such as the four-day week campaign are providing significant evidence of how the current model of long hours and long days is not making us at all more productive – it is simply making us more stressed and over-worked. It is now time to celebrate those who work part-time as modelling a change we would all like to see. 

Rushana Khusainova is a lecturer in marketing and programme director at the University of Bristol Business School; Maria Kukhareva is head of people development at the University of Bedfordshire; Rebecca Feasey is a subject leader in media and critical studies at Bath Spa University; and Christina Hughes is founder and CEO of Women Space and a professor of women and gender studies.

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