Amid layoffs, so-called quiet quitting, and talk of renewed personal priorities, why isn’t the concept of job sharing getting more buzz?
Job sharing is an arrangement where two or more people collaborate on what would normally be one role, where each one works less than full time. Sounds great to me!
A job share, of sorts
I once had something like a job share, as part of a two-manager team. We both worked full-time, and I was focused mostly on content and the dispersed content team, while my colleague worked on executive support and special projects.
There was plenty of work. We divided tasks, bounced ideas off each other, checked each other’s work, and covered for each other’s vacations. Having a peer who shared responsibility, someone you could consult with, was a huge stress relief and I believe for both of us, our work was the better for it.
An old movie with new ideas
The most progressive movie about office settings that I’ve ever seen was 9 to 5, a satire from more than 40(!) years ago.
Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin played admins who take over a workplace and implement reforms like flex time, on-site day care, and job shares. Productivity, retention and profitability go through the roof. I thought to myself as a kid, if these things work, they’re sure to be implemented.
What a boy scout.
Skip ahead to 2023, and guess what? They haven’t been implemented.
Advantages to employers
When counting beans, a job share would be one full-time equivalent, or FTE. The administrative costs are higher for two, but people tend toward overwork, so let’s face it, the company’s likely to get 110% of output from one FTE.
Of course no one can say that out loud when pitching a job share, but there are many other benefits worth talking about.
More diversity
Two job sharers could come from different backgrounds, so in one FTE, you get much broader perspectives and insight. They could be from different generations, speak different languages, have different skills. We value a culture of diversity for a good reason, and job shares are a way to incorporate more voices.
More brain power and innovation
When people share an FTE, they get to collaborate and brainstorm directly. With another set of ears and another social grapevine, the entire team gets more insight into audience needs and what’s going on out there.
More coverage, availability
If availability during working hours is important, you could lengthen the workday by putting two people sharing a job in different parts of the globe. Most of Europe, for example, have finished their day when California is getting started. And with two people, you’re assured that one is on hand when the other is away on vacation, so the one who’s restoring can put the phone away and actually relax.
Allowed in theory, but not practiced
As far as I know, job shares are legally allowed but never put in place. I’ve heard HR departments use FTE, a term that they invented, and it sounds as though they’re thinking of shared responsibilities. But they’re not. It’s one of their cold-blooded synonyms for ‘person,’ interchangeable with that other humanity-denying word, ‘resource.’
In my current home of Prague, job shares went into effect in labor law more than a year ago. When I talk to recruiters, they tell me they’ve never successfully placed a job share. Job sharing is clearly on the mind of somebody. But I’ve never met even one person doing it.
When I interview for a position, I often ask about job sharing in the first round. Without a pause, they’ll say, “That’s not possible for this position.” OK. That tells me much more than all the words they devoted in the job description about what a forward-thinking employer they are and how eager they are to explore the future of work.
Are these organizations stupid or crazy?
I don’t get it! What am I missing? I can understand that job sharing increases administrative costs, and that benefits are complex. But those can be negotiated. Are the costs for two FTEs/resources/humans so much higher?
In a time of cutbacks, both in team size and available budget, and at a time when many of us want the work/life balance seesaw tilted a little more towards life and less toward work, this very old idea sounds like a useful solution.
From the applicant’s side, what do we have to do if we’re serious about such a part-time job? Do we have to be a proven employee first, and then negotiate a downsized role? Should we find a partner, a fraternal work twin with whom we can apply to jobs as one?
What do you think? Let me know in the comments of this LinkedIn post.
