Illusion that everyone should work 100 percent: Report finds one in four part-time municipal workers are involuntary

A new report commissioned by KS and conducted by the research foundation Fafo challenges the widespread assumption that a large number of part-time municipal employees are eager to work more hours. The study found that one in four part-time workers in the municipal sector are employed part-time involuntarily.

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The notion that the part-time reserve is enormously large, it doesn't hold true. It's quite clear from the report.

Tor Arne Gangsø, director of working life at KS, stated that the idea of a huge untapped reserve of part-time workers is not accurate. "More people can work more, but not as many as we thought," he said. The report suggests that the picture is more complex than often presented in discussions about part-time work.

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More people can work more, but not as many as we thought.

The findings come in the wake of a previous Fafo report estimating that new rules for overtime pay for part-time employees could cost the public sector around six billion kroner annually. Gangsø believes this latest report demonstrates that most people working part-time do so for reasons other than a lack of offers for larger positions.

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The vast majority who work part-time do so for other reasons than lacking an offer for a larger position.

According to the report, over half of those working part-time in the municipal sector do so alongside studies or while receiving social benefits. Researcher Roy A. Nielsen noted that many students combine part-time work with their studies, and some older individuals choose to reduce their working hours for various reasons. The Fafo researchers categorized part-time employees into three groups: voluntary part-time, conditional part-time (would work more if conditions improved), and involuntary part-time (desire a larger position). While they estimated 43,300, or one in four, work involuntarily, they have not yet estimated the numbers in the other two categories. The report also confirmed a clear majority of women work part-time, predominantly in health and care professions.

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It is an illusion that everyone should work 100 percent.