When you’re looking for a job, the general assumption is that full time is better than part time. If you’re making enough money, however, that may not be the case.
Picture: Joel Penner/Flickr
The 40-hour work week has been roughly standard since the early 20th century, but if you can get by working less than 40 hours, you may be better off. As Lifehack points out, working a part-time job for the same (or slightly less) money can give you time to eat better, learn more skills and invest in other areas of your life.
Of course, this may not be universally possible. Sometimes, you have to work full time (or extra hours) to get by. If you find yourself overstressed though, you might want to consider talking to your employer to renegotiate hours without dinging your pay too much. Alternatively, while job hunting, consider taking a job that pays the same amount of money if you can work fewer hours.
11 Reasons Why You Should Never Get a Full-Time Job [Lifehack]
Comments
6 responses to “Your Ideal Job Might Not Be A Full-Time Job”
And don’t take up teaching. 38 hour work week my foot. If we really only worked the 38 hours (that’s arriving at 8:30 and leaving by 4) nothing would get done. (grumpy report writing teacher here)
I work casually and work almost whenever I want. I much prefer the work/life balance this has allowed and will be doing everything I can to avoid working full time in future.
There is no such thing as a part time IT job
That is salt in all of our wounds, friend.
Actually last year I quit my FT It support job and found a 20 hour per week DB support role. I absolutely love the hours – I usually have 4.5 day weekends, sometimes more if my days change (usually voluntarily) – and although I do kind of miss having a large disposable income, the extra days off per week are so far very much worth not being able to always buy the latest gadget or whatever.
I’m luckily in a position where I support no one and have no debts, so I’m under no illusions that not everyone could do the same, but if you’re able to do it then I heartily recommend working part time – even if you only do it for a year or two to rest and recharge or explore other options and interests.
This article makes me feel good! 40-hour working weeks should not be the norm. We should all hae 3-4 day weekends! Work to live, not live to work 🙂