The trend towards part-time work is pronounced among doctors
Keystone / Christian Beutler
The proportion of men working part-time has doubled in Switzerland since 2000, according to a University of Zurich study supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). But many are also discouraged from reducing their hours, largely by social norms.
In Switzerland, around 40% of the working population works part-time, a figure that puts the country second among the 38 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), just behind the Netherlands.
According to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), nearly six in ten working women in Switzerland were in part-time employment in 2025, compared with just over 20% of men.
Sociologists Jan Müller from the University of Zurich and Youngjoo Cha, a professor at Indiana University in the United States, have examined the factors influencing this choice among men. The researchers analysed data collected between 2004 and 2020.
The study, published at the end of July in the journal Community, Work and Family, reveals that few men opt for part-time work in professions marked by a culture of “male breadwinners” or “devotion to work”.
But more men are going part-time in sectors where there is greater support for work-life balance. This trend is particularly evident amongst doctors. In this profession, the research team observed an increase in the number of men transitioning to part-time work.
Swiss buck the trend
The proportion of men working part-time in Switzerland has doubled since 2000, rising from around 10% to over 20%. The average for OECD countries has risen only slightly over the same period, from 8% to just under 13%. Within the European Union (EU), fewer than one in ten men work part-time on average.
More
More
Why can’t men make part-time work?
According to the study, Swiss culture is conducive to part-time work. With a total of nearly 42 weekly working hours for a full-time employee, the country exceeds the OECD average. Reducing hours is thus an attractive option, especially as high wages make this choice more financially viable, according to Jan Müller.
The legal framework also plays a role. “By international standards, Swiss law offers relatively strong protection for part-time workers,” Müller said. “Contracts are often just as secure as those for full-time workers, which is not the case everywhere.”
In Scandinavian countries, society is “organised so that both parents can work part-time”, Müller added. “In Switzerland, the trend is more towards a system where women remain in part-time roles, but men are starting to follow suit.”
Nearly one in ten men working full-time would like to reduce their working hours. However, few of them actually follow up on this wish, the study shows. “Only 10% of those with a preference for part-time work while working full-time actually take the step of reducing their working hours,” said Müller.
The researcher highlights the limitations of this study, which focuses solely on men who were initially working full-time. Furthermore, it is constrained by the amount of reliable data covering the period.
Translated from German, sub-edited by Matthew Allen/dos
