Dictionary: Job Sharing

Job Sharing is an employment option that lets two people share the responsibilities of one full-time position.

Simply defined, job sharing is two professionals forming a partnership to perform one job.

Job Sharing Is Not …

Two people doing a part-time job.

Job Sharing Is …

One job description, one job, and one identity created by two people.

Job Sharing Differs from …

Other types of flexible work schedules: flexible hours, a compressed work week or a part-time job.

Benefits of Job Sharing:

• Employees who job share frequently attribute their decision to “quality of life” issues.
• Studies have shown that net productivity increases when two people share the same 40-hour job.
• Reduced absenteeism
• Improved recruitment and retention of valued staff who may not want full-time employment
• Improved scheduling and continuity
• Increased breadth of skills and experience
• Allowance for unusual schedule needs of staff

Challenges of Job Sharing:

There is an inherent challenge in making job sharing work for the rest of the company’s stakeholders. The “handoff” or “handover” communication between those sharing the job is essential, and co-workers must adapt to working with each other, for example, one person being responsible for a task on Monday, but another on Tuesday.

Any couple in a job share needs to take the time to strategize their method of working together.

They both must avoid the “Who’s in charge?” syndrome and prove to the company that there is a clear and close coordination and that their managers exactly know who’s responsible for what part of the shared job or tasks.

Job sharing is an increasingly popular flexible work arrangement, but its success very much depends on the accurate management of expectations and perceptions both for the two involved working partners and for the employing companies.

Bibliography:

Forbes, “How Job Sharing May Be the Secret to Work-Life Balance” by Ellen Weinreb

Cornell University, “Job Share Arrangement”

Entrepreneur, “The Pros and Cons of Job Sharing” by Dr. David G. Javitch

Featured Photographer: Flavia Dobraca