Part-time workers face lack of job opportunities

Robert Johnson of Fort Worth, Texas, has been looking for the past several months for something that's as scarce as a good five-cent cigar: a meaningful, permanent part-time job.

The problem isn't that Mr. Johnson lacks skills. He's a former aerospace engineer with a law degree who practiced law for 20 years, then trained as a certified software technician. Rather, he laments, "in everything I have expertise in -- engineering, law, computer work -- employers want somebody full time." In other cases, he adds, the part-time opportunities aren't challenging.

After a 15-year trend toward workplace flexibility, most big employers now offer setups aimed at allowing people to jam more roles and responsibilities into their day. But the idea of allowing people simply to cut back to a good, permanent part-time job has been a nonstarter at most companies.

People working part-time voluntarily -- that is, those who have chosen reduced hours, rather than being forced into them by a lack of full-time work -- slipped to 13.8% of the work force last year from 14.3% in 1994, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says. Hewitt Associates, Lincolnshire, Ill., found companies offering part-time jobs in 1999 fell to 47% from 50% in 1998.

Plenty of low-paying part-time jobs can be found in call centers, retailing and other service businesses, of course. Also, through gritty determination, some workers, mostly women, have carved out good part-time roles. Some companies allow parents to return part-time for a while after parental leave. And professionals at some law, consulting and accounting firms have staked out part-time status without falling off the partner track.

Nevertheless, many workers long for part-time status. The Families and Work Institute says a full 33% of women and 28% of men would prefer to work part time if they could afford it. Other surveys found that given a choice between more time or more money, 40% to 60% of Americans would take the time. Demographics are fueling that wish; AARP says 58% of baby boomers want to work part time into their retirement.

Many who ask to reduce their hours meet strong resistance. When a corporate strategist for a New Jersey financial-services firm asked to switch to the part-time status offered in his employer's written policies, the response from a manager was, 'You've got to be kidding!' the strategist says. He was so stunned he dropped the idea. He has since left the company.

Tracy Wilson, of Richmond, Va., part of a top-producing bond-sales team at a banking concern, laid the groundwork for a part-time position. She had an agreement from her partners and a plan for meeting goals. Then, she asked her boss to test a reduced-hours schedule, with periodic evaluations. Her boss refused, saying he didn't want to set a precedent, she says. At her boss's suggestion, she found a job-share partner. Again, the boss said no, that he had changed his mind, Ms. Wilson says. "It was something I couldn't understand," she says. She has since taken a new job.

From the employers