The Part-Time, Full-Time Expectation Problem

In this episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast, host Todd Rhoades addresses the common issue of part-time church staff being given full-time responsibilities. He highlights the disconnect between paid hours and actual work expectations and suggests ways to realign these to prevent burnout and frustration. • Part-time staff often face full-time expectations without additional compensation. • Churches must clearly list and assess the expectations of part-time roles. • Increasing compensation or reducing expectations are necessary adjustments. • Clear expectations lead to better performance and prevent burnout. • A call to action for leaders to honestly evaluate staff hours and pay.

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Transcript

The Part-Time Trap

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You hired a part-time worship leader for 20 hours a week, but you expect them at the Tuesday morning staff meeting. And you expect them at the Saturday setup. You expect them, of course, on Sunday morning, but also to respond to text on Sunday afternoon. Oh, and they'd be able to help with VBS this summer. And you're doing the math on the 20 hours, but the expectations are running closer to 35 hours. And you're not the only one doing the math. Your part-timer is doing the math as well, and they're feeling it, but they're not saying anything yet. Does that sound familiar? That's what we're going to talk about today on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Hi there, my name's Todd Rhodes, and I don't know if you are joining us for the first time or you're a loyal listener, but I am thankful for the time that I get to spend with you today talking about this topic of part-time responsibilities with full-time expectations. We talk to candidates all day long, every day. And one of the things that we talk that we ask is if somebody's part-time, we ask them it almost every time we get time part-time, but yeah, I work full-time, but I get paid part-time. It's very common. I came across some research on worship leader compensation just recently that kind of got me thinking about this whole mess. Here's what 20 hours actually looks like. That's okay, half a work week, two and a half full days, but somehow we've convinced ourselves that it includes weekends, it includes evenings, it includes quick meetings, uh, and we end up paying part-time wages for full-time availability. At least that's how it seems, and that's how it grows. And that's where it gets a little bit tricky because there are some hidden costs that nobody talks about. Your part-time person is probably because they're part-time, they're probably already working somewhere else, and they're already juggling multiple schedules, multiple bosses. And when you text them at eight o'clock in the evening about Sunday's changes, that's not just work. That's interrupting their other life, their other job, their family time. And you're asking them to be emotionally and mentally available like full-time, not just 20 hours a week. You're asking them to be mentally and emotionally available way beyond their paid hours. And when we break this down, your part-timer starts feeling guilty for having some boundaries. They work those extra hours without telling you because they care about the ministry. And quite frankly, they love you, they love your church, they love your job. And meanwhile, you start assuming that extra availability is just it's just part of the role, it's what they do. And pretty soon they're burned out, and you're frustrated that somehow they're not fully committed, and the resentment builds on both sides, nobody talks about it, and everybody's feeling it. You say, Well, Todd, that seemed to that escalated quickly, but I'm telling you, I've seen this happen, and if you've had a part-time employee, you know the struggle, the consternation at times between they're you feel like you're not paying them enough, or you feel like you're paying them too much. And I know you're not trying to take advantage of anybody anyone. You genuinely care about your staff and your people. But sometimes, particularly in these part-time staff relationships, there needs to be a little bit of an alignment fix. And you can start by listing every single expectation you have for this role, not just the Sunday stuff, everything. The meetings, the prep time, the communication, the events, add those all up. Add the actual hours and be honest about it. Because those hours add up, particularly when they're spread across morning and evening and afternoon and Monday and Thursday and Wednesday and Sunday, and it gets to be a lot of hours and a lot of expectations very quickly. And if it's more than what you're paying for, you really have two choices. You either reduce the expectations or you increase the compensation. Okay. Those are your two choices. When things get out of whack, whether it's six months in or five years in, you either need to reduce the expectations or increase the compensation. But you gotta stop living in that gap between the two because you're going to be frustrated, they're going to be frustrated, and it's not going to end well. Now, this is not just about fairness. Okay, it is about fairness, but it's not just about fairness, it's also about sustainability. A part not a part-timer who knows exactly what's expected can plan their life around it. And they can be fully present for the hours that they're being paid for, and that's what you want. And they won't spend their off hours feeling guilty about boundaries. Clear expectations actually make people more effective, not less effective. So here's the bottom line for today. You can have part-time hours or full-time expectations, but you can't have both for part-time pay. I see a lot of churches that try to do this, and I tell you what, it just never, ever ends well. This week, something simple. I just want you to do the math. If you've got a part-time person on your staff, write down everything you expect from that part-time person. And then add up the real hours, including the drive time and the prep time and the follow-up. If the numbers don't match the page, then you need to have an honest conversation about realigning either the hours and the expectations or the compensation. One or the other. Your part-time people want to serve well, but you need to give them clarity and they need to be able to do it sustainably. So give them that gift. Give them the gift of clear expectations. I hope this has been helpful to you, maybe a little challenging for you if you have part-time people on your staff. If there's any way that we can help you work through this or say, Todd, help me know if I'm even being reasonable here with my pay, with my expectations. That's what we do. That's what we've given our lives and our ministries to here at Chemistry Staffing. So if there's any way that we can help, reach out to me, podcast at chemistry staffing.com. I'd love to make your acquaintance and get to hear a little of your story and see if there's any way that we can help you out. So podcast at chemistry staffing.com. All right, that's it for today. I hope you'll join me again tomorrow. We're going to talk about huh, this is interesting. The unofficial therapist problem. I don't know if you have this, but maybe it's not you on your team, but maybe it's somebody else. But you probably have a fixer. You probably have somebody on your team that everybody goes to when they need something fixed, when they need their problem fixed. We're going to talk about that person. Maybe it's you. We'll talk about that tomorrow, right here on the Happy Church Staff Podcast. Have a great day.