Part-time Works: The campaign

Hear how part-time working can unlock opportunities - and why the Part-time Works 2026 campaign is focusing on men’s stories

Part-time work can be transformative - not just for helping people to earn and plan for their futures, but also in supporting personal wellbeing and creating more inclusive and sustainable workplaces. That’s why the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement partnered with flexible working experts Timewise to launch the Part-time Works campaign.

Through podcasts, lived experience stories and awareness activity, Part-time Works aims to challenge outdated assumptions about part-time work and show what’s possible when jobs are designed with flexibility in mind.

At its heart, the campaign is about making good-quality part-time work more visible and helping more people see it as a realistic, valuable option at different stages of life.

What Part-time Works is all about

Part-time Works exists because the world of work is changing. People are living and working longer, and many are balancing work alongside parenting, caring, health needs or other responsibilities.

Our aim is to:

• show the ‘art of the possible’ through real stories of people working part-time for different reasons
• challenge perceptions of who part-time work is for, and what good part-time jobs can look like
• give employers and employees practical ideas and inspiration to help flexible working work better for everyone

Why this matters

There are 8 million people working part-time in the UK, that’s around 1 in 4 workers. Yet only 1 in 56 job adverts mention part-time options.

Research from Timewise’s A Question of Time (2023), supported by Phoenix Group, highlights both the scale of part-time work and the barriers that still exist. It found that many people would like to work part-time but struggle to find suitable opportunities, while nearly half of those surveyed believe part-time working can limit career progression.

These attitudes matter because they shape who feels able to ask for flexibility and who may be able to benefit from it.

A campaign that has evolved over time

Since launching in 2024, Part-time Works has shared stories from people across sectors, life stages and career paths to show that part-time work is not a niche option, or something only relevant to parents of young children.

In 2025, the campaign explored how part-time work can support people managing caring responsibilities and long-term health conditions, helping to broaden understanding of why flexibility matters.

The 2026 focus: making men’s part-time stories visible

In 2026, Part-time Works is turning the spotlight onto men working part-time.

This new phase of the campaign reflects a key challenge: part-time work is still strongly associated with women, even though around 2.3 million men in the UK also work part-time. Research from Timewise shows men are more likely than women to see part-time workers as less ambitious, highlighting how gendered assumptions continue to shape attitudes at work.

That matters because, in many male-dominated sectors, there is still a strong idea of the ‘ideal worker’ as someone who is full-time, always available and unaffected by responsibilities outside work. But that model does not reflect the reality of many people’s lives, and it can come at a cost to health, wellbeing and long-term participation in work.

By focusing on men’s experiences, this phase of the campaign aims to make more role models visible, challenge stereotypes and open up the conversation about part-time work in places where it may still feel unusual or out of reach.

Because if we want to normalise flexible working for everyone, we need to make more of these stories seen and heard.

Get involved

If you have a part-time story to share, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch at kate_bryant@standardlife.com to find out more about taking part in the campaign.

And you don’t have to be a man working part-time yourself to support this campaign. Allies have an important role to play in helping shift attitudes and make more stories visible.

Here are some of the ways you can help:

• Spread the word by sharing the campaign with men you know who work part-time, and encourage them to get in touch if they’d like to take part.
• Make introductions to organisations, advocates or networks focused on men’s health and wellbeing, or on flexible working in male-dominated sectors.
• Help amplify the campaign by engaging with and sharing relevant social media posts from Timewise.
• Show your support publicly by joining the October storytelling moment on LinkedIn: whether you’re sharing your own story or supporting as an ally.

Series 2: A New Chapter – Caring, Health & Work

In its latest release, Part-time Works introduces a powerful 3-part special that gets personal. Looking at where part-time work, caregiving responsibilities, and health conditions intersect. These episodes put real-life stories front and centre, spotlighting both the challenges and opportunities that come with juggling work and life in these situations.

Series 1: