The "Illusion of Choice"
Just as importantly, without increased hours, it is virtually impossible to provide employees with any sort of benefits, especially health insurance. For cost reasons, full-time workers in the United States are usually the ones that receive health insurance and other basic benefits. Part-time workers -- even if they work well over 40 hours per week between multiple jobs -- seldom have benefits because no single employer allows them to work enough hours to qualify for benefits. In fact, according to the U.S. General Accounting Office, just 17 percent of part-time workers have health coverage through their employer. Some get that coverage through a spouse who works full-time, but still about one-quarter of all part-time workers go without health insurance. (U.S. General Accounting Office, Contingent Workers -- Incomes and Benefits Lag Behind Those of Rest of Workforce, 2000).
While it's true that part-time work is desirable to some people, it is not a good option for those who need to provide the primary income that allows them to care for their families. Many say that this part-time work "option" creates an "illusion of choice."
"[M]ost part-time workers take home disproportionately less pay, receive fewer benefits, and have fewer long-term career opportunities than their full-time counterparts with similar education, experience, and personal characteristics," according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute. "While part-time jobs give the illusion of choice, these choices are often so limited as to be of little value to workers. It is especially discouraging to know that 17.5% of part-time workers have combined family incomes of less than $15,000 a year, leaving most of these families living (and working) in poverty." (Economic Policy Institute, The Continuing Problems With Part-Time Jobs, April 24, 2001.)