Shattering the Myths of the Part-Time Worker

Abstract

Part-time workers permit flexible scheduling and traditionally have been relatively inexpensive to employ, but these workers tend to have high turnover rates, which can erode any savings. They may quit their jobs because they feel unappreciated or because they do not receive adequate training, which is often the result of managers' thinking that part-time workers are somehow inferior to full-time workers. But this study shows that critical work attitudes and behavior were as strongly exhibited by part-time workers as by full-time workers, including such measures as competence, work ethic, attendance, and acceptance of organizational standards and values. The food-service industry should therefore try to retain part-time employees by offering enhanced compensation packages, providing adequate training, establishing clear communication channels, allowing access to different jobs and responsibilities, and offering employment benefits.