02/04/2024
What do you think about part-time work?
Hi everyone! So, once when my eldest was a BABY (she's 18 and in university now), I had a conversation with two other moms of young children about really needing a part-time job. We were in Switzerland. One of the moms was a SAHM and one was a Full-Time working mom (she still is). They kind of laughed at me for dreaming the impossible. Within a few weeks, I had a part-time job at UNICEF and a part-time job repping for one of the world's top art and design schools. I took both jobs at the time. I definitely made less money than I should have at both jobs - in part because they were part-time - which is (and was then) infuriating. Juggling two part-time jobs and learning how to be a mom was a lot - but I was lucky to have a supportive husband and extreme amounts of energy at the time 🙂.
What are your experiences with high-level part-time jobs? Have you found them? Created them? UNICEF offered me a full-time job the week my second child was born and I turned it down. The timing was not right - though I know I would have loved the job.
I have been fully self-employed since my second child was a baby. One danger of a part-time job is the ease with which both employee and employer exploit the employee (it's hard not to be complicit in your own exploitation as part-time work is still rare).
Did your quest for part-time employment lead you to full-time jobs? Entrepreneurship? Freelancing? MLM work? Sporadic project work?
Here is what I have noticed as a community leader in Switzerland - in the past 4 months, the "I need a job" panic wave has risen. Not sure if these are new grads, new arrivals to Switzerland, women returning to work after taking a break from employment to pursue childrearing, education, or entrepreneurial goals. In terms of high-level part-time jobs, peole seem to gatekeep them.
Whenever I hear of an interesting part-time job or see something on LinkedIn, I try to share it, but I often feel alone in that kind of volunteering (yes copy pasting one job announcement can take 15 seconds - but the volume I'm talking about adds up to many volunteer hours without a huge return).
So if anyone sees this post, I'd love to hear about your experience -and what you think would help qualified women (and men) in Switzerland (and the EU) become more generous and supportive in sharing part-time job announcements, creating part-time opportunities, and helping to open the minds of employers about the value of part-time workers.
And if you are in the USA, are you seeking high-level part-time employment? Do you know anyone who works part-time in an interesting and meaningful job?
If you are seeking employment and you are a woman living in Switzerland or along Swiss borders, you can contact me about the employment resources we provide in the Facebook group I run. It's called Women Rock Switzerland.
My business partner and I also encourage meaningful networking for professional reasons in the Coach Within Facebook group, which is for men and women living in any country.
Wherever you are on your employment / career journey, come to this FREE online workshop to learn about self-coaching on April 4th . You choose the topic where you would like to try self-coaching in your life - so it could be about employment or something else, it's up to you. (We have more free workshops on the calendar if you are interested): https://www.facebook.com/events/906344214286499/?ref=newsfeed
