Problem
Progression for part-time staff can be difficult. How can we improve their chances in the labour market?
Solution
In this project, the Behavioural Insights Team partnered with the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) to test whether increasing the advertisement of part-time or job-share options would increase career progression among JLP’s part-time staff. They ran a two-armed randomised controlled trial (RCT) where John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets were randomly assigned to either
- continue with their business-as-usual process (control group) or
- start advertising new managerial vacancies part-time or open to job-sharing by default (part-time default group).
Impact
- Promotion rates for part-time workers were slightly higher in the treatment group compared to the control but the difference was not statistically significant.
- The intervention resulted in a 50% increase in the number of applications per vacancy.
- The share of female applicants increased from 38% to 51%. Over time, this can lead to an increase in the share of women in above entry-level grades.
The findings strengthens other evidence demonstrating the value of a part-time and job-sharing default for gender equality.
Read more about this example: Flexibility by default: Increasing the advertisement of part-time or job-share options | The Behavioural Insights Team