Insee Première · January 2021 · n° 1836

Retail trade employees: non-standard working hours, frequent part-time employment

Retail trade employees work a greater number of non-standard hours and are more likely to be employed part-time than employees in the market services sector. Cashiers and bakers are the most affected by weekend work, variable hours from one week to the next and evening or night-time work. In retail trade, the younger the employees, the more likely they are to work non-standard hours, even within the same profession. Night-time work is almost exclusively done by men, whereas women have more irregular working hours. In the food retail sector, in stores, where opening hours are longer, employees are subject to more significant time constraints than in the non-food trade.

In 2019, in retail trade, one in four employees worked part-time. Part-time is particularly common in the professions that primarily employ women, such as cashiers or pharmacists. 46% of part-time employees reported that they were obliged to work part-time. Among employees who work part-time for personal reasons, the number who do this to enable them to study is greater in the retail trade.