The FINANCIAL — The number of part-time job seekers in Georgia is growing, but they will find it hard to get a job in 2009. HR managers of Georgian companies questioned by FINANCIAL find it unnecessary to hire part-time workers this year.
Due to economic situation around the world, many people are getting out of work. Facing economic crisis, companies are cutting budgets, bonuses and salaries. One of the most popular ways of not staying out of job is working on a part-time. But companies in Georgia refuse to hire part-time workers claiming additional unnecessary costs.
In December 2008 leading banks in Georgia announced the cut of more than 1400 jobs. Many of them told The FINANCIAL about reducing branch network.
Bank of Georgia said it reduced 863 workers, while TBC announced about cutting 300 jobs.
While employers in United States are looking for a lot more part-time employees, Georgian companies say having part-time workers is extra luxury for the company, and they are not useful in economic recession period.
“We do not need part-times workers at present”, Irma Khabazi, BTA bank, HR Manager told the FINANCIAL.
Kako Tavadze, management program teacher at Tbilisi Free University, ESM Tbilisi says there is not really a big demand on part-time working in Georgia and it wasn’t really popular until the global financial crisis”.
“We have no part-time workers, there is no need for doing part-time work”, Lika Chichinadze, Head of HR Department of Iberia Construction Company says.
“We prefer to have our employees on a full time work. Our company doesn’t have any demand on part-time workers and we don’t have any of them”, Mikheil Bregvadze Employee Service Director (HR and Administration) of Mobile Telecommunications Company Geocell declares.
In contrast to Georgian companies businesses in U.S. are demanding more part-time workers.
9channel, NBC affiliated company reported companies in U.S. aren't just cutting jobs, but cutting working hours as well. The average work week in December fell to 33.3 hours, the lowest since 1964. That's why staffing service agency Robert Half International in Englewood is seeing a huge demand for part-time work.
"We definitely placed more part-time employees. I think it is, bottom line, it's because of the budget. They're trying to get as much work as they can for the least cost," said branch manager Drew Ostrem. "Fair or unfair, it's the economic times."
Ostrem says he used to get calls from employers looking for part-time employees about three times a year. He now receives those calls three times a month.
"I've never had so many people call me to say, 'I need somebody to do work, once a week.' That never happened before," he said.
Part-time workers in U.S. are now 8+ Million, says Zacks Investment Research company.
In December, the number of people working part-time for economic reasons continued to increase. The number of such workers rose by 3.4 million over the past 12 months, company said.
GPI holding, one of the leading insurance companies in Georgia says it has no part-time workers among its employees. ”We have no demand on having such kind of workers in our company”, Nino Khachapuridze, Head of HR Department in Georgian Pension and Insurance Holding(GPI holding) Company says.
“Having part-time workers is extra luxury for the company”, Medea Tabatadze the Head of the HR Department of Georgian Insurance Company Aldagi BCI told the FINANCIAL.
“For the last 3 years by my experience demand on part-time workers in Georgia has decreased. Companies realize that this kind of workers cause supplementary administrational expenses”, Tabatadze claims.
“It is a very humane decision made by companies, to let their employees work on part-time not to leave them out of work”, Tavadze, ESM explains.
“In Georgia, during economic crisis, reducing staff is more noticeable than increasing the number of part-time workers. Many of the companies are trying to reduce their expanses by job cuts. This may expose the companies to real danger,” Michael Leashvili, Managing partner of Brain Source International Georgia, executive search and recruitment service provider says.
“Part-time workers quality of work may cause some serious doubts. These kinds of collaborators have no desire for working in the company, have no motivation in expansion of their career. They realize that they aren’t full value collaborators. More attention should be paid to those workers who work full time and Company should create good working conditions exactly for these employees. Encouraging such workers guarantees company’s stability even at a time of crisis”, Lelashvili explains.
Lali Bibilashvili, Director of Human Resource Department and the Head of Administration and HR Department of Food Producing Company Nikora, thinks that part-time working is beneficial and fruitful for both employer and employee.
“While expecting the crisis, it is nearly deliverance from the current situation to work on part-time. In order not to loose a job people go ahead working part-time, it’s really profitable for both employees and the employers at the moment. Employees aren’t staying out of jobs and employers aren’t loosing their experienced staff in which they had put some investments while training them”, Bibilashvili says.
“After expecting the financial crisis, company workers are much more active and their working efficiency is higher than before. Until now they didn’t have to prove that they were the best workers. At the moment they are doing their best to perform their work”, Bibilashvili said.
“Psychologically, a person is organized so that heshe can work 8 hours a day and has the ability to work full time, if there is no extra demand from person or from the company. While people are under the fear of being dismissed from their current positions, it is more relevant for them to work part-time”, Lali Bibilashvili declared.
“Until summer, some of the company’s employees had some problems with the salary or working conditions, but while expecting the crisis they have forgotten all the problems they had in the past”.
But Kako Tavadze believes part-time working is not profitable for the company. He says this way company doubles its expenses to pay two people working on one position. “High rank work can’t be done by a part-time worker. The Head of the Department or the Marketing Manager shouldn’t work on Part-time”, Tavadze says.
“Part-time working figure is raised almost under compulsion, because people are afraid of loosing their jobs. Many companies will use the way of keeping their staff on Part-time work at this moment”, Tavadze declared
“Unfortunately many of the employees, who have been dismissed, are trying to find job even on part-time. That’s why the number of part-time workers has raised. In Georgia the crisis has not yet reached the peak, in the next two months the figure of reduced workers is supposed to ascend,” Michael Lelashvili says.
“Companies are trying to keep such staff that can direct company’s plural activities in a complex way. Our company doesn’t consist of part-time workers, we have managed the optimization of expenses at a time of crisis, but this hasn’t happened on expense of our employees,” Lelashvili declared.
“Different business sectors are reducing their staff or reduces the salary of the workers, mostly these are Banking and Building sectors, because they have mostly incurred while the economic crisis”, Lelashvili says.
Lali Bibilashvili has named some job positions where people can work part-time: Working in a Back office of the bank, Security, Lawyer, Accountant, Cashier, Phone operator.
”These are the positions, where one person can be changed by another smoothly while the amount of work is reduced. In this case, one employee manages to do the work”, Bibilashvili said.
Part-time workers commonly work less than 30 or 35 hours a week.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. there are currently 25.5 million part-time workers.
Here are 10 part-time jobs that will experience job growth or have a large number of available job openings, according to the BLS.
1. Massage therapist
2. Fitness worker
• Fitness worker employment is expected to increase 27 percent over the 2006-2016 decade.
3. Bill and account collector
• Employment of these workers is expected to grow by 23 percent through 2016.
4. Librarian
5. Nursing aide
• In 2006, 23 percent of aides worked part time compared with 15 percent of all workers.
6. Receptionist and information clerk
• Receptionists and information clerks are expected to increase by 17 percent from 2006 to 2016.
7. Dental assistant
• Dental assistants are estimated to be one of the fastest-growing occupations over the 2006-16 projection periods.
8. Teacher assistant
• Teacher assistant employment is expected to grow by 10 percent between 2006 and 2016.
9. Cashier
10. Bank teller
• Employment should grow by 13 percent between 2006 and 2016.
It was a list of the most viewed part time jobs abroad. In Georgia part-time working is also quite popular meanwhile in the time of economic crisis. It will also be interesting to reveal Georgian 10 most popular part-time jobs.
Written By Tako Khelaia
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