The growing appeal of part-time work has raised a number of questions, such as entitlement to social benefits and access to publicly-funded training. An examination of the data shows that the choice of part-time work is above all contrasted by gender. It is relatively homogeneous by level of training, and more marked in sectors such as public administration, health and education.
A sharp contrast between men and women
The analysis focuses on the situation of people resident and working in Switzerland in 2018-2022, taken from a recent study for the CCIG and BCGE that contrasts the case of Geneva and Switzerland. The figure below shows a large gap between men and women in the shares of people working full-time (blue bars), high part-time (50%-90%, red bars), and moderate part-time (less than 50%, green bars). Part-time work remains clearly concentrated among women, 53% of whom work part-time compared with 13% of men, even though the proportion of men working part-time has risen slightly (+1.6 point) since 2011-2015 (cf. the aforementioned study).
The reasons for this discrepancy are no mystery. The high cost of child care in Switzerland means that if both members of a couple are working, a large part of one person's income will be paid to the day care center. As the economic attractiveness of this person's job is limited, one of the two will reduce her activity rate, and this is almost always the woman.
A more homogeneous situation by training level and sector
The data enable us to refine the analysis by level of training, i.e. secondary 1 (orientation cycle or similar), secondary 2 (apprenticeship, maturité), and tertiary (higher education). The figure below shows that the distribution of working hours among women reveals a slightly higher proportion of part-time work among those at secondary 2 level, while among men the proportion of part-time work increases with the level of training.
The situation by branch of activity, illustrated below, shows that the proportion of part-timers is highest in the “public administration, education, health” sector, among both men and women. The above analysis shows that since 2011-2015, the increase for men has also been greater in this sector.
How should we see part-time work?
Should part-time work be seen as a problem? Generally speaking, the choice of working time represents a choice of consumption allocation between free time on the one hand, and market goods and services on the other. From an economic point of view, choosing more time is no more objectionable than choosing a different composition of one's consumption basket.
The higher incidence of part-time work among women is undoubtedly a consequence of the difficulties of reconciling career and parental life in Switzerland. The answer, then, is to reduce these difficulties, notably by offering more affordable day care. Many European countries have done this, so why not Switzerland?
The reasons for the higher proportion of employees in the “public administration, education, health” sector merit further analysis, as this sector encompasses many different situations. If we think of the healthcare system, feedback from people working there often points to long working hours and an increased paperwork burden as factors undermining motivation. It would be better to look into such causes rather than view the choice of part-time work with a certain amount of suspicion from the outset.
* «Evolution des qualifications de la population genevoise: constat d’ensemble et analyse affinée», décembre 2024. Study for the Chambre de commerce, d’industrie, et des services de Genève (CCIG) and the Banque cantonale de Genève (BCGE).