Part-time/Reduced Hour Schedules (Houston: home, college, moving)

[LadyMill00]

Wondering why professional companies in the Houston area don't offer more part-time and reduced hour schedules. Where are the companies that don't care about the # of hours spent in your desk chair and value quality of work instead??? Most part-time opportunities I see pay very low and I don't know why people feel that if you work fewer hours you should make less when you're doing the same level of work. I'm an experienced professional with a college degree and I'd love to be able to work 5-6 hours in the office and the rest of the time from home at other hours of the day (or I'd be fine just being paid to work 6-7 hours daily). Who are the oil/gas/energy related companies that have this type of culture??? Anyone?

[Mandres]

Originally Posted by LadyMill00

Wondering why professional companies in the Houston area don't offer more part-time and reduced hour schedules. Where are the companies that don't care about the # of hours spent in your desk chair and value quality of work instead??? Most part-time opportunities I see pay very low and I don't know why people feel that if you work fewer hours you should make less when you're doing the same level of work. I'm an experienced professional with a college degree and I'd love to be able to work 5-6 hours in the office and the rest of the time from home at other hours of the day (or I'd be fine just being paid to work 6-7 hours daily). Who are the oil/gas/energy related companies that have this type of culture??? Anyone?

In America? Good luck ... Our corporate work culture is strongly rooted in the idea that more hours worked = more value added. France and other, more progressive, European countries are evolving out of this mindset, but I don't think you'll have much luck finding it in Houston's conservative business/industrial environment.


I expect you'll be mocked and insulted pretty soon for even making a post like this. Entitled snowflake, etc ...

[gwarnecke]

I work in O&G and know of some employees (of other companies) who have secured part-time and work-from-home roles in O&G. These have generally been for small and/or struggling companies that could not afford to hire someone full-time and/or offered a limited and unstable workload that may have a relatively near-term end date. So needless to say, the job security wasn't great.

[SanJac]

Depends on your profession. I'm not in O&G and my company offers very flexible work options (be careful what you ask for!). Also, a lot of tech companies like Google and Amazon offer work-from-home options. If all you want is flexibility you could also consider contract work.

[AcresHomes44]

In a city the size of Houston, you should be able to find a company that offers what you're looking for. I'm sure there are companies that exist here.

[DanielWayne]

That's possible with some software jobs. But those jobs are even more competitive to land (and easier to lose) than the typical 8-5.

[swopoe]

My husband is in O&G, and while he works a lot of hours, but his office is flexible, and he works from home on Fridays.

[LadyMill00]

Originally Posted by SanJac

Depends on your profession. I'm not in O&G and my company offers very flexible work options (be careful what you ask for!). Also, a lot of tech companies like Google and Amazon offer work-from-home options. If all you want is flexibility you could also consider contract work.

Contract work doesn't necessarily mean flexibility. You still have to meet the requirements of the employer and most contract positions are based on a full-time/40hrs per week schedule.

[LadyMill00]

Originally Posted by Mandres

In America? Good luck ... Our corporate work culture is strongly rooted in the idea that more hours worked = more value added. France and other, more progressive, European countries are evolving out of this mindset, but I don't think you'll have much luck finding it in Houston's conservative business/industrial environment.


I expect you'll be mocked and insulted pretty soon for even making a post like this. Entitled snowflake, etc ...

Mocked and insulted for believing that times have changed and the advancement in technology should allow for modifications to the stone age 40-hr workweek???

[nana053]

Originally Posted by LadyMill00

Mocked and insulted for believing that times have changed and the advancement in technology should allow for modifications to the stone age 40-hr workweek???

In the 1800s, it was common for people in manufacturing to work nearly 100 hours per week: between 10- and 16-hour shifts over six-day workweeks.

https://www.askspoke.com/blog/hr/40-hour-work-week/

By the early 1900s, many industries had adopted the eight-hour workday, but most people were still working six days a week. That continued until 1926 when Henry Ford removed one required day of work from his employees’ schedules.

Ford’s employees had been working 48 hours a week: eight-hour days and six-day weeks. Removing one day resulted in eight-hour shifts for five days a week—what we now know as the 40-hour workweek.

Ford found that his workers were actually more productive working 40 hours a week than they had been working 48 hours a week. His success with the change inspired manufacturing companies all over the country to adopt the 40-hour workweek.

It is probably time for a change to less hours, but it might help if you considered the history first.