What do you think about this part-time work schedule?
Asked by No Shortage
Several companies in my area are hiring clerical help. This is not entry level. All are expecting a minimum of three years experience and a college degree. Pay is listed as commensurate, which could mean anything. The hours are either 9:00 to 4:30 or 9:30 to 5:00 Monday through Friday. They are calling this part-time work, with no benefits at all. I'm annoyed by this. I think it's taking advantage of the employee to ask him/her to work during the busiest 7 hours of the day without benefits. Of course people don't have to apply (I know I wouldn't), but I also think it's taking advantage of Michigan's economy and the desperate need some people here have for a job. I do realize businesses are hurting too. What do you think? Would you apply for a job like this? If you did, would the hours bother you? Would you negotiate for a half day a week or a four-day week since you weren't getting benefits, or would you just be thankful for the opportunity to have a job at all?

Best Answer:
Sure, I'd apply for the job. But here's the catch, since they want to play a game by calling 35 hours a work part-time, and therefore providing no benefits, I'll be prepared to walk away, for a better job, on 5 minutes notice. I'd most likely drop what I was doing in the shredder on my way out too.

I think if you are a mom like me and you get your benefits through your husbands job, this is perfect as the extra 1/2 half hour either lets you drop off your kids in the morning or get home to them sooner in the evening. If you are single this stinks as the 1/2 hour does not make up for no benefits.
Answered by Sarah C

Being in OH, the economy is bad here too. Unfortunately, these companies are doing this because they know they can. While it sucks, it is reality...
Answered by Duckboy

The only question I have is whether this 40-hour-a-week “part-time” job is for a limited time period for employers whose businesses are seasonal; say, three months heading into a summer selling season. The employers don’t say what the jobs pay -- only that pay is commensurate with experience. That suggests, but doesn’t say, the pay is by-the-hour. You don’t say whether the employers say the jobs do not provide benefits or their ads just do not mention benefits. As a practical matter, all jobs have “benefits.” If you look at two identical jobs, one without stated benefits and the other with paid vacation and sick leave, health insurance, paid tuition, etc., you can be sure the first job will “pay” more than the second one – a lot more. The problem both you and your employer are facing is due, in large part, to government regulations. If an employer decides to offer health insurance to its employees and will pay 50% of the premiums, its costs don’t stop there. The record-keeping and reporting requirements imposed by the government are very expensive, and the penalties for even honest “mistakes” are onerous. That’s one problem even the government recognizes; that’s why it limits the reporting requirements of small businesses that have less than, say, 50 employees. Most employers with more than a certain number of employees (50, for example) have Human Resources Departments. The biggest part of the Department’s job is Benefits Administration. Because of government regulations, the cost of providing benefits is so high that many employers cannot afford to offer them. In some public companies the cost of providing and administering employee benefits exceeds the salaries and wages paid to their employees. That’s one reason why so many of our domestic companies have been unable to compete and have “outsourced” their operations to foreign companies. But the government doesn’t stop there: Thanks to “free trade,” many foreign companies have open access to our markets, which they can serve with products manufactured by employees who receive low wages and, you guessed it, no benefits. When our own companies can’t compete in our own markets, something is wrong.
Answered by SCOTT M