February 21, 2001

                    Work & Family

                    Part-Time Workers Face Lack of Job Opportunities

                    By SUE SHELLENBARGER

                    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 EMPLOYERS' STANDPOINT, most of the costs of part-timers
                    are manageable. Part-timers tend to pay a larger share of health
                    insurance, while life insurance, pensions and payroll taxes tend to cost
                    their employers less. Part-timers, however, often need full-time office
                    space. A bigger hurdle is inconvenience. Managing more bodies can be
                    complex. And work hours in many jobs are so open-ended that it can
                    be hard to figure out a part-timer's pay, says Hewitt's Carol Sladek.

                    Complexities aside, employers may be missing a good bet here. In one
                    of the most compelling experiments I've seen, Pfizer in 1999 created a
                    part-time sales force called Vista Rx. To boost sales in target
                    high-potential regions, the drug maker chose 60 employees who wanted
                    to work 60% of full time, with benefits. "We focus on talented,
                    high-performance people with a very strong track record within Pfizer,"
                    says Bruce Fleischmann, national director of sales for Vista.

                    The results exceeded projections. Sales in Vista areas are up 1.5% to
                    4.5% over areas without Vista reps. "Field sales managers are clamoring
                    to get more Vista reps," Mr. Fleischmann says. The program has
                    expanded to 130 reps; about 100 internal applicants are waiting in line.
                    Mr. Fleischmann believes as many as 75% of Vista reps would have quit
                    without the program.

                    John Ray, 57, a top-performing 29-year Pfizer veteran, was considering
                    early retirement until Vista came along. He loves his work and values the
                    deep bonds he has formed with physicians. But he wanted more time to
                    enjoy his adult children, spend time with his wife, play golf. As a Vista
                    rep, he has struck a satisfying balance, he says. Other Vista reps
                    compete in triathlons or care for family.

                    There are several lessons here. First, when results are measured,
                    well-managed part-timers can really produce. Catalyst, New York, has
                    similar findings from studies of part-timers. Second, top employers --
                    Pfizer has been named the No. 1 pharmaceutical sales force by doctors
                    for six straight years -- see merit in putting part-timers to good use.
                    Third, a well-run part-time program can retain top performers -- exactly
                    the people employers need to keep in a slowing economy.

                    If more employers bothered to offer systematic part-time programs and
                    measure the results, they might find out the same thing.

                         Send your comments to sue.shellenbarger@wsj.com.