Think you might want to work part-time? Here are 5 things to consider

 

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Two years ago I was in the midst of a career crisis.  Teaching was taking over my life and I wasn't at all happy about it.  I liked parts of my job, but it felt like all I did was work and then come home so exhausted and stressed, that I had no energy for having fun.  Luckily, this crisis ocurred at the same time as my school needing to make some savings, and we were asked if any of us would consider going part-time.  After some careful thought - and after reading Tom Hodgkinson's brilliant book How To Be Free, which persuasively puts forward the notion that perhaps spending our lives on a work-spend-work treadmill is not conducive to a happy existence - I reduced my hours to nine days a fortnight, and it  has truly changed my life.

Having a day off has made me a better teacher - I'm more patient with my classes, more focused on work during my days at school, more willing to go the extra mile, all because I know I'll be getting some time to myself. Some weeks on my day off I just catch up on sleep and relax; some weeks I go walking or meet up with family; some weeks I get the irritating household jobs - like cleaning, washing, and shopping - done so that I can have a more relaxing weekend; some weeks I get my craft on and sew all day. Regardless of how I spend it, my day off always goes too quickly.  In fact, I've just put in my request to reduce my hours still further next year, going down to four days a week.

Increasingly, I'm hearing about other people in their 20s and 30s who are also making the choice to go part-time.  Often, they're people like me: not taking time out to spend with children, but rather taking the time to spend on themselves.  So, if you are considering reducing your hours and improving your work/life balance, here are a few things to think about:

1. Can you afford to work part-time?
This will no doubt be the first question you ask yourself.  Work out your monthly incomings and outgoings (Jess at Knitting On Trains did a fab post about how to manage your finances this week) and then look at whether you can afford to lose a chunk of that money.  However, bear in mind that a reduction in your hours, while entailing an equivalent reduction in your gross salary, won't mean the same reduction in your net salary (the money you get to take home).  Because your gross salary decreases, the amount of tax, NI, pension and student loan contributions - if you pay them - will also decrease.  This generally means that, although your pay cut may initially look drastic, what actually lands in your bank account isn't reduced by as much as you'd think.  Roughly speaking, I lose £300 gross but just over £100 net.  Frankly, I would happily give up that sum in exchange for the time, energy and pleasure I gain.

2. Can you afford not to?
This is the question you should be asking yourself.  I can't quite express how very precious my time off is to me: certainly more precious than money.  As I said above, having just one day a fortnight has enhanced my life in so many ways, both professionally and personally.  The thought of working five days a week, every week, for years and year until retirement (and when will that be for our generation, anyway?) just does not appeal to me.  As much as money is important - I need to pay my mortgage and bills just like everyone else - realising that there are more important things than slaving to earn a wage has been revelatory for me in terms of quality of life.

3. What are your options?
Do you have to have a day off a week or can you - like me - arrange for one a fortnight?  Some workplaces may give you the option of working longer hours on fewer days; a friend of mine once went down to three days a week but kept an almost-full time wage by working ten hours a day rather than eight.  Find out how flexible your employer is able and willing to be; you might be pleasantly surprised.

4. Are you ready for the opinions of others?
Be prepared for the fact that your colleagues will certainly comment on, and very possibly judge you for, your time off.  Never mind that when you work part time you may have to do your full time job in fewer hours.  Never mind that you're not being paid on your days off.  The people you work with will often assume that part time = slacker.  This is especially true if, like me, you don't have children.  Some people don't understand why I'd need or want time off if I don't have kids to look after at home; apparently prioritising my own health and happiness isn't enough of a justification. 

You can either let this attitude get to you or you can recognise for what it usually is: jealousy.  You're having a lie-in, or enjoying a sunny day in the park, while they slave away in the office.  It's natural for them to feel envious.  As long as you, and your superiors, know that you're pulling your weight, sod what the office gossip has to say.

5. "But what about my career prospects?"
This is a very real concern for lots of people because, rightly or wrongly, working part-time is often viewed as an option for people who don't take their careers seriously.  And ultimately, only you can know the ethos of your workplace and judge how reducing your hours might impact on your prospects of promotion.  Luckily, my school has a long history of people working part-time for all sorts of reasons, so I haven't found myself negatively impacted at all.  However, I'm aware that if and when I move to another school, my choice to work part-time might very well be questioned.  All the more reason to move to the Netherlands then; did you know that, for almost all public sector workers and lots of private sector ones too, a four day week (on a full time wage) is the norm?!  Start packing your bags now...