"With respect to the last few months, this part-time spike could indeed be due to volatility, but that still doesn't explain the longer-term pattern," wrote Subadhra Sriram, editorial director of SIA. "The percent of U.S. population currently working full-time is the lowest it has been since 1983, a low that was touched only briefly in that year but which now has been sustained for roughly two to three years. Even being careful with the numbers, it would seem that something odd is happening."
Could it be that some kind of labor shift is going on in favor of part-time work? And if so, what or who may be driving this trend? It's entirely possible that leading the way is none other than baby boomers. As this generation of trailblazers moves into their golden years, they are, once again, changing the rules of the game -- and the practicing physicians among them are no exception. Reinventing Retirement A CompHealth survey of 1,000 U.S. physicians reveals that a majority of respondents, who are either at retirement age or nearing it, aren't following the traditional career paths of their predecessors. Instead, these physicians want to continue to work after reaching retirement age.- When asked what they plan to do when they retire, 68 percent of physicians ages 50 and over said they plan to work part-time after retirement age
- 24 percent said they plan to work part-time at their current place of employment, either a hospital or private practice
- Another 24 percent said they would consider contract work
- 21 percent said they plan to work as locum tenens
- 58 percent of practice owners ages 50 and above say they will not close their practice, compared to 42 percent who say they will
- 14 percent plan to volunteer in a related field
- Only 13 percent said they plan to stop practicing medicine altogether
