Opportunities for part-time work in typical male occupations still limited

Due to demographic change, the labor market is undergoing upheaval: For the first time, more employees are retiring than new ones entering the labor market - employers are confronted with an increasingly dried-up labor market. However, the upheaval in the labor market not only affects the number of workers, but also their expectations and requirements. Precisely because the balance of power is shifting in favor of the workforce due to the labor shortage, their needs are gaining in importance.

One important and much-discussed trend here is part-time work. In principle, Swiss SMEs have a positive attitude towards part-time work. This is shown by the results of the current SME labor market study, which AXA conducted for the second time this year with the Sotomo research institute: Only around one in ten companies sees no benefit in an 80-percent part-time job compared to a full-time position. In times of a shortage of skilled workers, the question is increasingly being asked from an economic point of view whether the Swiss economy can afford part-time work at all - but the fact is that the desired workload of the Swiss across all age groups is part-time.

High lower limit in terms of minimum workload for small SMEs

The problem: Part-time is not just part-time. "In the debate about part-time work, people often talk about part-time work in general. In concrete terms, however, it makes a big difference whether part-time work means a 40-percent or an 80-percent workload," explains Michael Hermann, Head of Sotomo. For AXA Switzerland's SME labor market study, companies were therefore asked how high the workload must be so that employees can fully fulfill their tasks and obligations. The study results show: The lower limit for small SMEs with 5 to 9 employees is a medium 80 percent workload, which is significantly higher than for medium and large SMEs, where a medium 60 percent workload is also sufficient.

At 50 percent, the minimum workload is lowest in industries with a high proportion of women, such as retail, education, and health and social services. "The continuing division of roles in household and child-rearing work means that part-time work is widespread and institutionalized in typical female occupations, while opportunities for part-time work in typical male occupations remain limited. So one can ask how much the opportunity for part-time work has to do with the job itself and how much with persistent role models," Hermann said.

Influence of social perceptions not to be underestimated

43 percent of the SMEs surveyed justified their prevailing minimum workload with an increased coordination and planning effort that would be incurred with a lower workload. In second place, the respondents cited customers' expectations of employee presence time (41 %). Only a good third (35 %) justified the minimum workload by stating that the work itself required a certain amount of presence time. While the increased coordination and planning effort is obvious for low-percentage workloads, presence times required by customers have a lot to do with social perceptions. In the case of companies and industries with a high minimum workload, the question therefore also arises as to whether this is due to the work itself or to societal perceptions about the way in which a particular profession is performed.

Four-day week receives headwind

Working an 80 percent part-time is therefore largely accepted today. Compared with the previous year's survey, however, skepticism toward a statutory four-day week has increased: While 39 percent of respondents in 2022 still viewed the introduction of a general four-day week positively, the proportion fell to less than one-third (31 %) in 2023. "The decline in approval probably has to do with the fact that the four-day week became a media topic last year. The debate has obviously fed skepticism among SMEs," is Michael Hermann's assessment.

The study results also show that Swiss SMEs have very different ideas about what the introduction of the four-day week actually means. Only a minority of respondents, namely 39 percent, understand it to mean a reduction in working hours with no change in pay (wage compensation model). 32 percent of respondents assume that a four-day week means that the same number of hours as today will be worked in four days instead of five (working time shift model). Another 30 percent assume that the number of hours per week will be reduced, but with a simultaneous reduction in pay (working time compensation model).

Among those respondents who have a positive attitude toward the four-day week, the idea of it coincides more often with the wage compensation model than among the skeptics. 55 percent of those in favor of a four-day week understand this to mean a reduction in working hours with no change in pay. Overall, however, only 17 percent are in favor of a four-day week with no change in pay. ""80 percent employment is widely accepted today. However, very few SMEs are prepared to accept a statutory four-day week, and even then with wage compensation," says Michael Hermann.

Only a minority implements concrete measures for the advancement of women

One much-discussed strategy for dealing with the labor shortage is to increase the labor force participation of women. After all, it is still mostly women who take on a larger share of the housework and childcare and therefore reduce their workload. However, the Swiss economy would depend on women working higher hours.

The study results show that while 70 percent of the companies surveyed with existing gender inequality are trying to counteract it. However, only a few SMEs are taking targeted measures: Flexible working hours (36 %) and enabling part-time work and job sharing (29 %) are the most common. These two key measures to improve the reconciliation of family and work commitments are thus only taken by around one-third of SMEs, even if they identify deficits in gender equality. Even rarer are targeted measures such as taking gender into account in recruitment (18 %) or targeted promotion programs (10 %).

It is true that these measures make it easier for employees to reconcile family and work commitments and thus increase the employment rate of female workers. However, by focusing on low part-time workloads, they simultaneously promote lower overall female labor force participation. "The last two measures in particular could make an important contribution to ensuring that women are not only employed more frequently, but also increasingly pursue careers and work at higher stints," says Michael Hermann.

Source: AXA Switzerland