Employment Level versus FTE
Life happens and sometimes life happening leads to someone wanting to make a formal administrative change to their role to reduce their working hours or job complexity. This is definitely possible, but it is important to realize what various HR terms mean so that the adjustment made to someone’s position actually fulfills the need of the person requesting it. Two common strategies that are often conflated are a job’s level, and a job’s FTE. Level affects the difficulty and responsibility of a position, while FTE affects time spent working.
FTE stands for "Full Time Equivalent". FTE is normally expressed as a percentage calibrated to a 40 hr work week. For example, a 50% FTE position would be a position where work tasks are identical to someone in the same role and with the same title working at 100% FTE, but reduced so that the job can be completed in 50% time, or 20 hrs per week. The key concept is that FTE is time-based, not difficulty-based. A lower FTE position will have a smaller volume of work expected to be completed in proportionally fewer hours; the complexity of the work is identical to someone at 100% FTE. Note that benefits are often linked to a minimum % FTE. Check this before making any adjustments.
By contrast, the level of a job conveys its difficulty. An entry level position consists of fewer responsibilities and simpler projects and tasks than a senior level position. If both are the same FTE, both an entry-level and senior-level position require the same number of hours spent working. The difference between the positions relates to job complexity, not time. A person qualified for a senior level position who takes an entry level position is still expected to be present for the same number of hours, however the tasks they are assigned will be simpler, and the stress load less.
If the goal is to reduce work-related stress, think carefully as to whether to adjust FTE or job level. The outcome of a drop in % FTE would be fewer of the same difficulty projects. Going down in position level (a demotion) will require the same time commitment, but the work itself will be simpler and responsibility burden lower. I’ve seen this strategy used by people approaching retirement looking to shed complex managerial tasks and drop back to being an individual contributor.
If instead the goal is to free up time in the day but otherwise stay at the same job level, adjusting % FTE is a good strategy. Common examples of people who do this are parents and athletes. Instead of working 9 am to 5 pm, one could adjust their FTE to 75% and work 9 am until 3 pm, leaving more time for training, or for attending after school events with kids.