PART-TIME WORK ARRANGEMENTS
IMPACT ON TODAY'S WORKPLACES

The wide-ranging effects of flexibility in the workplace have been revealed in a new report released by Catalyst today. Six in ten employees have direct exposure to part-time work arrangements, according to A New Approach to Flexibility: Managing the Work/Time Equation. This first examination of the effects of part-time work on the organization, managers, colleagues, and users also finds that 36 percent of women managers and 11 percent of men managers will have worked part-time at some point in their careers.

The Catalyst report focused on voluntary part-time professionals (85 percent in middle management or above) at four representative organizations: a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company, a Fortune 100 technology company, a leading law firm, and a leading consulting firm. Catalyst surveyed over 2000 people and found that 82 percent of those working part-time were women, of whom 89 percent have children. Only one-third of all the women in the study indicated that they would never work part-time. Part-time is defined as a reduced work schedule structured on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis.

"Part-time arrangements have a considerable impact on today's workplace, with 11 percent of the women participants in our study and four percent of men currently working part-time," said Catalyst President Sheila Wellington. "Considering that women make up nearly 47 percent of the workforce and are increasingly valued as managers, it becomes a business issue for organizations to make flexible arrangements available and ensure their viability, especially given that our study demonstrates that the ripple effect of part-time affects a majority of the workforce."

Catalyst found that the success or failure of part-time work depends upon the skills of the individual, the manager, and colleagues, as well as the organization's structures and systems. Marcia Brumit Kropf, Catalyst vice president, points out that "people are not aware of the part-time arrangements at their organizations. Even though more than 60 percent of organizations have such policies, people don't widely use them because there's a general sense that they don't work." Among the main barriers to success uncovered by the study are organizational practices like measuring performance by face-time, and the resistance of middle managers, who may bear extra burdens because of unclear policies and practices.

The productivity of part-time employees does not falter, according to the study. Over half of part-time people reported gains in their productivity, and supervisors and colleagues agreed, as did clients interviewed by Catalyst. More than half of those who went part-time indicated that their workloads did not decrease, and ten percent said they had more work. Nearly a third of those using part-time expected to be promoted.

The Catalyst study includes remedies for the nearly universal problems with implementing flexibility at corporations and professional firms. "Many organizations are truly committed to flexibility. They want answers on how to make it work, because they know that some of their brightest talents require work schedules outside the traditional 9-to-5 norm," said Wellington. "This report offers companies a new way to deal realistically and successfully with this new reality."

Catalyst is the national nonprofit research and advisory organization with a dual mission: to enable women in business and the professions to achieve their maximum potential and to help employers capitalize on the talents of their female employees. Catalyst is supported by leading corporations, professional firms, and private foundations. A New Approach to Flexibility: Managing the Work/Time Equation was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

A New Approach to Flexibility: Managing the Work/TimeEquation

Catalyst studied 2,000 managers, including part-time professionals, their full-time colleagues, and their supervisors, in four companies_ a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company, a Fortune 100 technology company, a leading law firm and a major consulting firm_over a two-year period. Among the findings: Part-time work arrangements have considerable impact on today's workforce:

--57% of participants in the survey are affected by part-time arrangements. --11% of women participants and 4% of men participants work part-time. --36% of women participants and 11% of male participants will work part-time at some time in their careers.

Part-time arrangements are critical tools for retaining valued employees:

78% of full-time professionals and 98% of part-time professionals agreed that offering flexible work arrangements encourages employee retention.

37% of part-time professionals claimed their working arrangement was essential for continuing with their employer.

Part-time work arrangements generally have a positive impact: A majority of part-time professionals and their supervisors report that the arrangement either improved or didn't affect the employee's productivity; 46% agreed that individuals working part-time realize productivity gains.

31% of part-time participants expect to be promoted while working part-time.

92% of part-time participants report increased morale, and half (53%) report increases in commitment to the company or firm.

Barriers to the successful implementation of part-time work arrangements:

*Lack of communication about the availability of or process involved in securing a part-time arrangement: only 45% of respondents believed the policy was clearly communicated in their organization; and although 64% of organizations have policies offering such arrangements, they remain underused. *Lack of commensurate shift in workload after moving to a part-time arrangement: more than half of participants reported that their workload did not change after reducing their working time (and salary); 10% of participants reported an increase in workload after reducing their working time. Lack of the organizational flexibility necessary to support part-time workers, and managers and colleagues of part-time workers: performance measures need to evaluate results rather than hours; full-time equivalents need to replace head counts.

Users of Part-time Arrangements in the study shared certain characteristics, including:

82% women 89% white/nonhispanic 8% people of color 74% have children under age 18 average age: 39.7 years 76% mid-level, 15% entry/first level, 9% senior or partner level 37% supervise other professionals $49,000 median income as part-time employee 7 years average at organization; nearly 4 years in current position 95% have spouse or partner 78% have spouse or partner employed full-time 5% have partners/spouses who don't work 3% have adult-care responsibilities

For the purposes of the study, part-time was defined as a reduced work schedule structured on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis.

Catalyst is the national nonprofit research and advisory organization with a dual mission: to enable women in business and the professions to achieve their maximum potential and to help employers capitalize on the talents of their female employees. Catalyst is supported by leading corporations, professional firms, and private foundations. A New Approach to Flexibility: Managing the Work/Time Equation was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Catalyst 120 Wall Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10005 TEL (212) 514-7600 FAX (212) 514-8470 info@catalystwomen.org