Exploring careers in construction
Construction is a huge industry that spans everything from architecture and house building...read more
Men who work part time should be celebrated, not met with surprise
Patrick McMaster, executive coach and owner of Aim High Achieve More, writes about his decade working part time – what’s changed and what still needs to be done
According to the Office for National Statistics 14.7% of all UK people working, work part time. Some do so because they must, and some do because they choose to. If you’re a man reading this, you’re significantly less likely to be a part time worker than if you’re a woman.
Of all part time workers, 37% are men and 63% are women.
When I joined the UK workforce 20 years ago the percentage of men working part time was much, much lower. When I started working part time 10 years ago I didn’t know any men who did so. Looking at the Timewise power 50 lists in recent years we increasingly see male part time/flexible working role models in senior positions. It’s great to see shared paternity leave legislation is helping families make choices and most organisations, I believe, can accommodate part time working in most roles – when asked. So, it potentially comes down to men having the confidence to start a conversation. Asking for what they want. It’s a topic I’m passionate about and if any man reading this (or person who knows a man who’s thought about it) wants to hear – this is how it’s been for me over the last 10 years.
Committed
In 2009, I personally needed a “reason” to (assertively) request moving from 5 days a week to 4 days a week. I took Thursdays off and swapped days occasionally around business needs. My boss at the time was an amazing, insightful female leader who decided that she would keep my salary the same. Just imagine how engaged and committed I was to her and the organisation!
My “reason” was i) I had 3 children under 5 and ii) I wanted to do a 2 year programme of further education. As well as professional fulfillment the study was also to legitimately escape the pressures of having 3 young children which can be relentless, thankless and wonderful all at the same time.
When you talk to people you know who work part time or flexible hours you’ll hear the same story. You often end up doing the same in less time, as efficiently as you can. A few less Friday afternoons of largely unproductive but somewhat fulfilling filing/browsing/pub lunches. No difference between men and women there. My wife who also works part time and others I know say the same. Studies show men often play less of a role in the home than women too. As a life-long fan of free market economics, I never thought I’d be agreeing with unions that have suggested a 4 day week.
Surprise
So, what’s different about working part time as a man? For me, it’s the surprise! People are still really, genuinely, surprised as it’s sadly not yet common enough. Until recently it’s almost been taboo for men to initiate in conversation due to sometimes irrational fears around career impact. Interviewing successfully for a job that’s advertised as full time is tough – however, take heart, it doesn’t mean you’re not the right/best person for the job! If more women can make it work, we men must ask ourselves the question – why do they do it and what do they get from it? All the women I know that manage to work part time do it to serve some purpose, to allow them the space to thrive in another aspect of their life (often children/caring). Whilst they’ll juggle and find it difficult much of the time, most wouldn’t swap back to full time work for the world.
What I most worry about is that some men may be missing out on something that will potentially significantly benefit them personally. They could work, and live and thrive. I can say that, hand on heart, there is a downside. There are projects I’d like to have worked on that I turned down due to capacity. One CEO wasn’t that impressed that I turned down one such project. However, the downside has been vastly outweighed by the upside. I’ve done better work, had a much better balance in my life and I’ve felt more energetic with a break mid-week. I’d still be working at full capacity on Friday afternoon at 4.45. (Obviously some colleagues don’t appreciate this!)
Although progress is being made, there are still gender stereotypes in society. Judgments and incorrect assumptions can be made about part-time workers regarding commitment, and aspirations for career progression and goals. As more men and women take time away from work (e.g. for shared parental leave, caring responsibilities, work life balance), the more all employers will become used to this as ‘normal’ and not a display of lack of commitment to work.
There are already national days celebrating everything from pickles (Nov 14) to fish fingers and custard (sorry if that excites you, you’ll have to wait a year for the next one as it was Apr 3). How about in 2019, we have a National day to celebrate “Part Time working men”. If so, I’m in!
Part-time working dad, ECC Executive & Parental Transition Coach, and owner Aim High Achieve More
Related
Paternity Leave
Paternity pay when you have more than one job
An increasing number of parents are doing more than one job, particularly during the cost...read more
More on working part time or flexibly
Flexible Working
Flexible working: a guide
New flexible working regulations came in over the weekend. But what do they mean and how does the process work for making a request for flexible... read more
Flexible Working
Family-friendly laws are changing: Here’s everything working parents need to know
HR expert Alan Price outlines the legislative changes coming up in April that will help working families. read more
Flexible Working
A new parliamentary group on flexible working
A new parliamentary group aims to push the conversation about flexible working further. read more
Flexible Working
Working in the metaverse
Will we all be working in the metaverse in the future, what are the implications and are our children equipped for a more virtual world of work? read more
Comments [1]
Dilyana Nikolova says:
I personally do not think this is fair towards women. Especially these men’s partners. Especially because women are the finer sex, we often work in lower-paid fields, and have the stress of having to give birth and the biological clock, which men don’t. This one is huge. In order to develop a career and give birth a woman must be very disciplined, especially if she wants to do it before 30, which is the healthiest for her body and for the child. If she risks otherwise, after 30 she will have harder time getting pregnant, giving birth successfully and recovering. Which means: in order for women to have a career and earning their own money, women pay a much higher price than men! A man can easily start a family after 30 – 35 and most do so. They don’t have to worry about giving birth. So in my opinion it is not fair that men only care about making money for theirselves. They should be able to take care of their woman, too, about the rent/mortgage and about the child, because a woman has a much harder task, they don’t have. This is equality. Not women paying the price for birth themselves (in terms of less time for theirselves, exhaustion, the horror of birth and breastfeeding, the lion’s pie of child rearing, taking over the hardest part: the first few months after the baby is born, pregnancy, and so on), but being equal to men in everything else. I see no equality here, but injustice. Men get a lot of additional years just to themselves, in which they can develop themselves personally, professionally, or just have fun and party/be with different women. And this can go on until 30/35/40, even above. So it is not fair that women get so little time for themselves before birth, or need to pay the price and risk having children later in life, and then men not only take 0 care of them, but get to do what they want once again, working part-time.