As employers continue to encounter major skills shortages, many qualified and willing workers remain unemployed or underemployed. These “hidden workers,” ignored by employers for a variety of reasons, represent a potential source of much-needed labor. This includes part-time workers.
This report from the Harvard Business School examines the obstacles part-time workers must navigate in finding employment.
Part-time hidden workers are disproportionately represented by older people and women. But much like hidden workers generally, the group is heterogeneous. The study identifies six main categories of part-time hidden workers, each facing unique challenges and in need of different approaches by employers in the hiring process: caregivers, people facing health challenges, people with disabilities and/or mental health challenges, people with other personal or family obligations, the partly retired, and those working part time for economic reasons.
According to the study, the two things part-time workers need most from their employers are flexibility and frequent two-way communication.