Part-time with Benefits

One of my big concerns when I proposed a part-time schedule was retaining my benefits. It wasn’t until I looked in my employee handbook that I discovered employees had to work a minimum of 30 hours a week to qualify. So that’s the magic number of hours I went for. Sure I cut my annual pay by 25%, but I held on to those benefits.

But, now with ever-changing family demands, working 30 hours is tough. (And honestly, I’ve been putting in 35 to 40 hours lately—which is even harder—especially when I think about giving up my full-time pay!)

So yesterday this headline caught my attention: Top 15 Part-Time Jobs with Benefits. More and more companies are offering part-timers great benefits. Not only do they offer healthcare insurance, paid time off, and retirement savings, but they offer their employees some extra perks, too. Here’s the list of companies who offer the best career opportunities that are part-time with benefits:

• Target—Just don’t spend your paycheck before the end of your shift. (I would.)
• Trader Joe’s—Just another reason to love TJs!
• Wegmans
• IKEA
• Starbucks—Extra perk: Employees receive a pound of free coffee a week.
• Whole Foods—Get 20% off all Whole Foods purchases on your first day.
• REI—They offer “uniquely REI” extras, like the REI Baby Membership. (Whatever that is… they don’t go into details.)
• Barnes & Noble
• Nordstrom
• Lowe’s
• Land’s End—The corporate office has a back-up childcare center, an exercise facility, and a homework helpline for employees’ children.
• Nike—The corporate headquarters in Portland has an on-site daycare and hair salon.
• Cost Plus World Market
• JCPenney

According to career experts, if you’re looking for part-time work with benefits, the bigger the employer, the better. Employers  that offer part-timers health benefits, for example: JP Morgan Chase and UPS (in addition to some of the companies listed above, like Starbucks and REI).

Here’s a company that would give you benefits for part-time work and help you get more organized: The Container Store. Part-time employees get medical, dental, life and vision insurance, as well as short-and long-term disability insurance. You even get discounted pet insurance!

Plus, you can participate in the 401(k) plan after working there 11 months, with a 4 percent employer match. You can also get a 40 percent discount on Container Store merchandise and 30 percent off installation fees. (I’m tempted to apply just for that benefit alone!)

To find the best part-time jobs with benefits for you, try some of these sites:

FlexJobs

FlexJobs is an innovative job site dedicated to sharing legitimate telecommuting, part-time, freelance, and flexible jobs—and the work-life, economic, and environmental benefits they offer. With more than 150 career categories and jobs ranging from entry-level to executive, freelance to full-time, FlexJobs offers something for almost anyone.

MomCorps

Mom Corps, a WBENC Certified (woman-owned) business, was founded in 2005 with the goal of providing flexible work opportunities to professionals who were raising young families. The company focuses on recruiting for fractional, interim and flexible positions, while also sourcing full-time candidates for great companies that understand the importance of work-life satisfaction and its positive impact to their bottom line.

Rat Race Rebellion

Rat Race Rebellion is a major source of legitimate work at home jobs online. Launched in 2007 by Staffcentrix, a training and development company that specializes in home-based careers (est. 1999), the site posts a fresh collection of screened job leads six days a week. You’ll also find hundreds of links to legitimate work-at-home employers, along with tips on scams and job-searching, freebies, and more.

The Work at Home Woman

Named by Forbes as one of the top websites for your career, The Work at Home Woman is an advocate for telecommuting and home-based businesses that empower women to balance life on their own terms. Holly Reisem Hanna founded the site in 2009 to help women looking to find a legitimate work at home job or launch and run their own home-based business. You’ll find tons of great expert advice and job listings screened by Holly and her team.