HOURS ONLY PART OF STORY

PART-TIME employment might be a great way to have a fulfilling work-life balance but many people are deterred by the impression it will restrict their career prospects.

Almost three in five Australians (58 per cent) believe working part time is career-limiting, a study conducted by SEEK finds.

It also finds part-time workers are more likely to be female (62 per cent), earn a lower income (83 per cent earn less than $42,000 a year) and metro-based (58 per cent).

While 13 per cent of part-time workers don’t do so out of choice, those that do say their main reason is for work-life balance (30 per cent). For most people this means working flexible hours and ensuring they have time to perform additional duties at home.

The down side is one in four part-time workers surveyed by SEEK (23 per cent) have felt discriminated against for working part time.

The statistics are significantly higher for females (30 per cent) than for males (12 per cent).

But Wayne Baker, chief operations officer at Symmetry HR, says workers can make sure going parttime does not negatively effect their career by ensuring their reduced workload is not to the detriment of colleagues, narrowing their focus to eliminate administrative tasks, working smarter not harder and, choosing a job that lends itself to part-time hours.

He says suitable jobs “can be easily measured by efficiency or financially” or require “technical skills that are in high demand”. THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED ON SEEK ADVICE AND TIPS