Currently, one in five jobs in Europe are part-time. The phenomenon is most pronounced in the Netherlands, where over three in four working women and one in four working men hold a part-time job. So the thirty-hour workweek is a reality in this country — but again, only on average.
The problem is that the growth of part-time jobs across Europe risks reinforcing existing economic and gender inequalities rather than fighting them. Figures show that the “choice” of part-time work is rarely completely free, but rather determined by job availability and family obligations. Many take up part-time jobs because there’s no full-time work available, while for many others it’s the only way they can combine caring tasks with work.
Meanwhile, this kind of working-time reduction is paid for entirely by individual employees, with both their wages and pension suffering. Part-time jobs also offer poorer career prospects and are often insecure, meaning not only are the workers’ current earnings lower, but their future income is jeopardized as well. Finally, since it’s mostly women who are in part-time jobs, this sort of working-time reduction is unlikely to create a more level playing field between the sexes. [...]
Rather than “on average” cuts in hours, generated through an increase in part-time work, we should reduce working time for everybody. The examples above show that there’s no one best way of doing so, and these kinds of changes don’t always come without compromises. But they all share an approach based on parity and fairness in how the reduction was implemented and show how positive results can be achieved through an organized, collective approach.
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