Moms, retirees re-enter work force

By Laura Raines, for the AJC

Men have been hit with the highest employment rates nationally in this recession, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As a result, more spouses, moms and retirees are going back to work.

“We’re seeing more applications from nurses who are coming back into the work force,” said Jan Gannon, vice president of patient services at DeKalb Medical. “They tell us that their spouses have been laid off, their investments have tanked, or they need to support children.”

Veda Bush (left), an accountant and mother of three, has worked part-time from home for 10 years. Cindi Filer (right), CEO of Innovative Outsourcing, helps professionals find part-time work. Photo by Leita Cowart, for the AJC

She calls it a timely trend that has helped ease the nursing shortage, at least temporarily, in Georgia. DeKalb Medical requires nurses who have been out more than 3 years to go through a refresher course to bring their skills up to speed with the changes in health care, “but re-entering nurses generally make excellent nurses,” she said.

They have experience and are highly motivated. Gannon is also seeing a higher percentage of new male nurses who have retrained for a second career, and more part-time or agency nurses wanting full-time jobs.

“People are looking for the security of full-time jobs, and when they find them, they’re staying put,” she said.

CEO of Mom Corps, Allison O’Kelly says the re-entry trend is strong in the business, legal and accounting fields, as well. Her national professional staffing company has placed moms into flexible, corporate work arrangements since 2005.

“We’re still seeing about 500 candidates a week, but they’re working for very different reasons now. It used to be for their mental health, to keep skills up, or to pay for an expensive vacation.

Now the reasons are almost exclusively economic. Their income is needed,” O’Kelly said.

While the job market is tough overall, O’Kelly feels that professional moms with skills have an advantage.

“They may only want to work part-time and not need benefits and that makes them more interesting to employers in today’s business climate,” she said.

Cindi Filer, CEO and president of Innovative Outsourcing, an Atlanta-based staffing company that specializes in placing professional people into part-time positions since 1993, has seen a significant increase in candidates, about 25 percent in six months.

Even if the breadwinner is still working, spouses are going back to work “so as not to have all the family’s income in one basket,” she said. “People want to pay down debt, or get a little ahead, just in case.”

Filer has placed more candidates this month than any of the previous four months, and is encouraged by the up-tick.

“It’s not that company profits are better, but they have done without staff for so long and realize they are burning out their employees. They need to be creative with their dollars and stay flexible to survive in this economy,” she said.

“Hiring part-time workers can be a great solution to keep fixed-costs lower. I think we’re going to see more part-time employment,” Filer said.

She recently placed a part-time chief operating officer with an engineering firm, who got the high-quality talent of someone who only wanted to work 20 hours a week.

A former human resources manager with Delta and Worldspan, who decided to stay home with her first child, Filer began working part-time and finding jobs for friends.

Innovative Outsourcing places accounting, administrative assisting, sales, project manager, attorney and paralegal professionals into part-time jobs that she often helps companies create to fill their needs.

Since Filer fills permanent, not temporary part-time positions, her firm is not a solution for displaced workers looking for a stop-gap job until they find full-time work.

On the other hand, she can help someone who is tired of being downsized and decides to make a full-time living by working part-time for several employers.

Accountant and mother of three, Veda Bush, has been working part-time from home for 10 years and likes the flexibility of making her schedule fit her life.

“I don’t get paid as much per hour as I would full-time, but when you weigh in that I don’t have the costs of child care, office wardrobe, gas, dry-cleaning or eating out, I think I’m compensated better,” said Bush.

“Hiring part-time has not been an industry standard, but recently I’m seeing more companies willing to try it.” Lately she’s been advising more friends about how to get back in the market.

She told a CPA out seven years to learn QuickBooks and volunteer her services for three months to prove herself.

“Those who have kept their skills current through continuing education or certifications will have an easier time finding jobs in this economy,” Filer said.