Seekers Need Not Apply

After diligent searching over the past year or more, I have been somewhat discouraged by the paucity of professional part-time jobs. Beyond a few specialized industries, such as Health Care (Nurses) and Higher Education (Instructors), I have not seen a demand for part-time business professionals. It seems strange - especially during hard economic times - that companies have not realized the cost savings that could result from the hiring less-than-full-time professionals.

Perhaps this is reflective of the general downturn in employment opportunities over the past few years due to the crappy economy. Just as likely, it reflects the historical attitudes of many companies towards part-time workers - a vestige of a bygone era when company loyalty was considered to be valuable, and part-timers were considered transient. Traditionally, such jobs have been plentiful in retail, customer service, farm labor and hospitality industries where the routine nature of tasks require only basic skills and moderate experience. These skill sets are highly transferable. Indeed, most employers of part-time workers treat them as interchangeable parts. These jobs typically require little judgement or creativity on the part of the worker. Tasks are proceduralized to the nth degree to eliminate potential variables, and all unexpected questions are bucked-up to the ever-present supervisor.

But for some reason, hiring managers for professional (i.e., Sitting in an office working at a keyboard, staring at the PC, clicking the mouse) work seem to ignore the patent advantages of hiring people who cannot/do not wish to work full time.
To list a few:
- Less wasted time. I know from long experience that most salaried office workers are less effective than they are busy. They worry about career, status, promotion. They waste large chunks of time sucking around Mr Big and getting very little done. A part-time worker on the other hand comes in and works 4 hours a day 5 days a week, head down and gets stuff done.
- Reduced expectation of benefits. Most part-time workers earn about $9-11 per hour in retail establishments. Elite part-timers might make 12-14 per hour. Professionals might get $20 per hour. Over a year, that amounts to a payroll cost of 20K vs an equivalent full-time worker costing three times that amount counting benefits.
- High function low cost. There are lots of guys like me who have retired from the career track. We still know how to do things and we have a pretty respectable work ethic. We don't need constant supervision. We can handle problems and find solutions. We are not interchangeable parts. We want to feel valued. We miss the action, but not enough to make us go back to the 40+ hour a week grind. And we are willing to the same level of work for considerably less than the going rate for a full-timer.

Most job listings for interesting work demand a full 40 hour week. Most of us who have escaped from hellholes have no desire to return to the work-obsessed existence that characterizes full-time employment these days. I don't want/need to carry a mobile phone (except to order take-out on my way home). Today's career-minded workers must be blackberried or i-phoned up to be taken seriously. They must be willing to give-up luxuries like undisturbed dinners, time with family or even vacations.
During my Florida vacation in February, I was forced by proximity to overhear many phone conversations at the pool and on the beach. People who were supposed to be relaxing who were still tethered to the office. And then there were the fully dressed people who looked like they were attending a conference, but on duty 24X7. It was pathetic to see four people sitting at a table eating breakfast, not enjoying the view or even looking at the others, each one texting on their mobile phone or laptop.

The biggest difference is that part-time professional worker wants to leave the office behind when he goes home or on vacation. He can still work without a supervisor monitoring every action. He doesn't expect to be paid for hours not worked. So I wonder why is this not a reasonable value proposition for an employer.

Some people think I sound irrational, talking about still searching for a minor league job when I should be spending my time fishing and golfing, looking at the wonders of nature and seeking the answer to life's eternal questions.
Maybe they are right...