100% agreed, that's what I meant by "I think the issue is not about part time, but the commitment itself". We very often try to rationalize things that are more

100% agreed, that's what I meant by "I think the issue is not about part time, but the commitment itself". We very often try to rationalize things that are more "felt" (sense of commitment) to more tangible things. In this case, the author might feel that the person is not committed, and might attribute it to the part time as way to reason/explain that feeling that the other person isn't committed. Chances are, they would most likely feel the same if the person was full time. If the person was highly committed, they wouldn't even start to rationalize this way about part time, and it'd be a no-brainer decision to hire them and make it work.