Brianna DeWitt didn’t want to be a stay-at-home mom.
The rush she gets working in a hospital every day makes her years of intense medical training worth it.
“My husband was self-employed,” she told me.
“So I was trying to hold down the fort as far as our health insurance benefits went.”
DeWitt’s dilemma is shared by parents and caregivers across America.
Companies that allow parents to work part time couldretain experienced talentand save money on hiring.
Over29 millionpeople in the US work part time roughly 18% of the total American labor force.
What all of these part-time workers have in common is a lack of federal protections.
But once you dipbelow that roughly 30-hour-a-week threshold, employees don’t have the same safeguards.
Workers told me that can lead to unpredictable schedules and tight budgets.
And that doesn’t include the money part-time workers lose if they don’t have access to benefits.
This level of economic uncertainty is particularly acute for parents.
The lack of options hits moms especially hard.
Aboutsix in 10part-time employees are women, and working fewer hours can have long-term consequences.
Right now, though, many have to choose between a steady paycheck and time with their family.
Jessica Cuevas, 35, lives in Chicago with her husband, their preschool-aged son, and toddler.
What if she also wants to scale up?
What if she also wants to get paid more than her partner?"
“Our labor market is much meaner and exclusive than people realize,” Edwards told me.
“What the US labor market needs is a ‘glow-up,'” Edwards said.
But it’s unlikely that laws protecting part-time employees will be passed at the federal level anytime soon.
Still, companies can take steps to protect part-time workers, even without government involvement.
When experienced talent stays at a company, employers don’t have to spend money tofill open roles.
In recent years,Starbuckshas implemented similar part-time work benefits.
A spokesperson for Starbucks told me that most of the company’s barista employees are part time.
Jamie-Lee Kapana, 33, is a barista in Oahu and has a 13-year-old son.
She’s been working part time at Starbucks since he was a toddler.
More white-collar industries are leaning into part-time work as well.
Still, higher-paying sectors like insurance, law, and finance remain heavily tilted toward full-time roles.
A more accessible workforce is a win-win for employees and employers.
Companies can retain talent, and parents can achieve a healthy work-life balance.
Plus, as Edwards told me, “more workers equals a bigger economy, full stop.”
Allie Kellyis a reporter on Business Insider’s Economy team.
She writes about social safety nets and how policy impacts people.
