Things to Consider When Deciding to Work Full Time vs. Part Time
Each individual will have to assess their personal situation to decide whether full- or part-time work is right for them. For example, those with strong family ties may not want to spend a significant amount of time away from the home, making working a full-time job undesirable to them. In other cases, it may be necessary to work full-time to adequately support the family. Personal goals and interests tend to play a major role in which route people choose.
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Benefit Packages
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Many companies tend to only offer benefit packages to their full-time employees. These packages typically include medical and dental benefits, retirement plans, life insurance policies, paid vacation time and stock options. If you're in a position where you need to have any of these benefits, you may need to purchase them yourself out-of-pocket if you don't work full time. Consequently, the cost of paying for medical insurance yourself may end up costing more than what your part-time job pays. This makes it more worthwhile to work full time where your benefits are covered by the company.
Daycare Expenses
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If you have children, you may need to take daycare expenses into consideration. Some companies offer daycare for full-time employees. If your employer doesn't offer such benefits, you'll need to make arrangements yourself. Each situation will be different depending on individual circumstances. If your job is low paying, you may struggle paying daycare fees. In these cases, it may be more beneficial to work only part time while your kids are in school or times when you can have other family members watch them. Otherwise, you may need to find a high-paying, full-time job to cover the costs.
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Time Commitment
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While full-time work is usually synonymous with a 40-hour work week, this isn't necessarily what you'll be working. Many full-time jobs require employees to work overtime whenever needed. For some, this can amount to an average work week of 50 or 60 hours. If you have other commitments, such as family or school, this may not be the right situation for you. Always take your schedule and lifestyle into consideration before committing to a job.
Inconsistent Schedules
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For the most part, full-time employees tend to have more consistent schedules than many part-time workers. This is mainly because of the fact that part-time workers are used by the company to fill in the gaps. Therefore, as a part-time employee, you may sometimes be required to work full-time hours, but still not be eligible to participate in company benefit programs. Other issues to think about include being on call, being sent home early, being the first to be laid off when the company experiences struggles and not having regularly scheduled hours.
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