Melissa Nicholson intro

MELISSA NICHOLSON: Many of us have done the work. We’ve been doing the work, okay, we’re worn out. We’ve learned what we need. And what we need isn’t another mindfulness app.

Maybe life has handed you incredible curveballs that don’t show up in any employee handbook.

Introduction

INTRO: Welcome to Job Share Revolution. The show about job sharing—a partnership between two people to bring two minds and skill sets to one full-time position. I’m Melissa Nicholson, former job sharer turned founder of the first U.S. job share company. But it wasn’t long ago that I felt like an utter failure at work and as a new parent. Job sharing was my game-changer. I reclaimed four days a week to fully engage in my life while my capable partner handled everything. Together, we achieved more than I ever could solo. Fast forward to many lessons learned to bring you the training and support I wish I’d had to change lives and the modern-day workplace. Let’s live life and slay work.

Melissa NICHOLSON

MELISSA NICHOLSON: Hey beautiful human, it’s Mel, and I’m so glad you’re here. Before we get started, I have a little bit of a scratchy throat.  I think I just have allergies. I don’t normally get them but, it’s Texas so they can strike at any time in the hill country. So I hope you forgive me my scratchy voice today.

If you’re new to Jobshare Revolution, welcome. If you’ve been with me for a while, you know we talk about how job sharing can transform your life and  and your career. But today’s episode hits differently—and it’s one I’ve felt called to make for months.

Now before we dive in, I’ve got two asks: First, if this resonates with you—or if someone pops into your mind as you listen—please, please send this episode their way. Whether it’s your boss who’s drowning trying to retain really top-notch talent, an HR leader watching their team burn out in real-time, or that fellow working parent you know is hanging on by a thread—this just might be the conversation that cracks something open for them.

Second, if you haven’t listened to Episode 41 yet, queue it up next. It’s a raw, honest conversation between job share partners Mary Kaye Stuart and Sommer Hruska—with me, an interview—they are two high-performing professionals who loved their work but knew something had to give before they broke. They chose job sharing to literally save their well-being. You’ll hear exactly how they made it happen, step by step. That’s what I love to do, teach you step-by-step, and I think they’re a great example of this for health and well-being reasons. I’ll link it in the show notes.

Now let’s get into it.

Personal Opening

This episode is dropping as we wrap up Mental Health Awareness Month—and can we talk about the cruel irony of that for just a sec? May is supposed to be about mental health awareness, but it’s also Maycember on freakin’ steroids. End-of-school-year chaos, talent shows, graduation announcements, college decisions, and if you’re a parent, you’re probably running on fumes and caffeine, just like me. I call it Mayday! Mayday! because it literally feels like you need a life preserver. 

Personally, I am in the thick of it right now. My daughter Iris is graduating  high school in two days. TWO DAYS. And I a m sitting here processing all these “lasts”—her last prom, her last high school soccer game, her last end of year trustees honor awards. And every year I have been so freaking proud of her. And then, there’s a whole round of first that are happening, you know? Her first college acceptance. It is beautiful and devastating all at once.

But here’s what’s been hitting me: This overwhelming month perfectly captures why we a  re in a mental health crisis at work. We’re expected to show up as if life isn’t happening around us. As if the stress, the transitions, the caregiving, the sheer weight of being, like, a   human in 2025 doesn’t exist the moment we log on.

And friend, that’s just not sustainable anymore.

The Real Talk

Today, I want to have a conversation that’s long overdue—about mental health and how the way we work is either supporting us or breaking us. This episode is especially for people leaders, employers, and flexible work champions who are watching their teams struggle and wondering what actually works. But if you a  re an individual contributor who’s barely keeping your head above water, I’m talking to you too. Because you need to hear what’s possible.

We’re going to look at what the research actually says about mental health at work in 2025, why what employers are offering isn’t moving the needle, and how job sharing might be the most strategic, sustainable mental health solution we’re not talking about enough, if at all.

Section 1: The Brutal Reality

Let’s start with the truth: We’re in a full-blown crisis, and it’s getting worse.

A recent study by Lyra Health found that 65% of U.S. workers report mental health challenges that interfere with their ability to work. Sixty-five percent. That’s nearly two-thirds of the workforce. But here’s the kicker—only 25% said their employer’s mental health resources were actually helpful.

I mean, really. Let’s really think about that disconnect for a second. Companies are spending millions on Employee Assistance Programs, wellness stipends, meditation apps, mental health days. And three-quarters of struggling employees are saying, “Thanks, but no thanks. It’s not  helping.”

And we need to talk about women who are struggling mightily and driving a stunning surge, around 70% of all mental health leaves in the past year.

Since the pandemic forced us to prioritize our mental health in ways we never had to before—getting our teens into therapy, finding our own support, taking up running just to cope—many of us have done the work. We’ve been doing the work, okay, we’re worn out. We’ve learned what we need. And what we need isn’t another mindfulness app.

Maybe life has handed you incredible curveballs that don’t show up in any employee handbook. Divorce. The loss of a parent. Dual caregiving like me—navigating my mom’s Alzheimer’s while raising teens. There’s no corporate policy for watching your mom have a full-blown tantrum while helping your daughter go through the crazy college selection process.

And now in 2025, the stress just won’t let up. Political instability, rising costs, climate anxiety—I mean, that’s a constant, right?— constant uncertainty about what comes next. A recent McKinsey study found that 76% of workers say they’re more stressed than they were two years ago. Seventy-six percent.

But here’s what really really  gets me: A Deloitte report found that the number one reason workers experience burnout isn’t personal issues or life stress—it’s unmanageable workloads. The structure of work itself is breaking people.

And women? We are drowning at twice the rate. McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace report shows that women, especially mid-career moms, are leaving the workforce in record numbers. Not because we don’t want to work, but because the way work is structured is unsustainable.

SEction 2: Why Current Solutions Aren’t Working

Employers, I see you. I see you trying. I really do. You’re offering wellness stipends, flexible PTO, even four-day work weeks in some cases. But people are still burning out. Still leaving. Still struggling.

Why? Because you’re treating the symptoms, not the disease.

The disease is that we’ve built a work culture that expects superhuman performance from humans. We expect people to be always on, always available, always producing at peak capacity. We’ve created roles so complex and demanding that one person can’t sustainably handle them—but we keep acting like they should. We keep pretending.

Here’s what I learned from nearly a decade of job sharing: The problem isn’t that people aren’t resilient enough. The problem is that we’ve designed work to be unsustainable.

When I was job sharing in corporate media—one of the most demanding, always-on industries—I had four consecutive days off every single week. Four days to rest, recharge, tend to my family, and remember who I was. Who I was  outside of work.

I was able to take acting classes. I was able to take dance classes.  I was able to get involved in my kids PTA and chaperone field trips. But I was able to take time for myself to dive into things that were really important to me like working on the board of a reproductive healthcare non-profit that I was so passionate about, and making a huge impact. And, staying on that board for a full term eight years.  There were no other moms that were on the board for more than a year or so, maybe two, it was just too much. Too demanding. Nobody can do that.

And on my three work days? I mean, I was laser-focused, creative, and more productive than I had ever been working five days a week.

That’s not because I’m special. It’s because the structure of the job share supported my well-being instead of depleting it.

Section 3: Job Sharing as Mental Health Infrastructure

Let me tell you why job sharing isn’t just another flexible work option—it’s mental health infrastructure. I’m gonna say that again: job sharing isn’t just another flexible work option, not just  a perk, it is mental health infrastructure. 

Here are the five ways job sharing fundamentally supports mental health while delivering business results:

 

The first is Real Recovery Time: Job sharers get four consecutive days off every week. Not weekend recovery that gets interrupted by Sunday scaries and Monday prep. Real, protected time to rest, attend therapy, exercise, sleep, and remember they’re human beings, not productivity machines.

The second is Sustainable Workloads: Instead of one person carrying an impossible load, two people bring complementary strengths to share it. The work gets done—often better—without breaking anyone.

The third is A Built-in Support System: Your job share partner becomes your professional lifeline. When life throws you a curveball—and it will, my friend, it will—you are not going to face it alone. Your partner will step in, they’ve got your back, and you don’t have to choose between your job and your life.

The fourth is Cognitive Load Sharing: You get two minds, two skill sets, two lived experiences tackling complex problems. The mental burden of decision-making, problem-solving, and innovation gets shared instead of overwhelming one person.

And the fifth is Growth Without Burnout: Partners mentor each other, they challenge each other’s thinking, and accelerate each other’s development. You level up faster because you’re learning from someone who i s invested in your success.

And here is the proof that     this works: 96% of job sharers cite they have the flexibility needed for work-life balance. Ninety-six percent. Compare that to traditional flexible work arrangements where employees still struggle with boundaries and burnout. I mean, I think all flexible work practices are somewhere in the seventieth percentile or less. So this is ninety-six percent.

I remember talking to a job share partner who told me, “For the first time in years, I can actually get sick and not worry about things, work things falling apart.” That’s what real mental health support looks like—knowing you can be human without professional consequences.

So, I want to just go over those five again. There’s a lot of information in this podcast, so here are the five ways that job sharing fundamentally supports mental health and well-being:

• #1: Real Recovery Time:
• #2: Sustainable Workloads
• #3: A Built-in Support System
• #4: Cognitive Load Sharing
• #5: Growth Without Burnout

Section 4: The Business Case

Now to the people leaders, the HR professionals, and the  executives listening: You’re facing a retention crisis, a productivity crisis, and a talent acquisition crisis all at once. You’re being asked to do more with less while supporting a workforce that is not okay.

Job sharing isn’t just compassionate—it’s strategic.

Here’s what the data actually shows: According to The Job Share Project, 87% of job sharers say job sharing was the difference between staying and leaving their company. Eighty-seven percent. That’s the retention solution you’ve been looking for.

I can tell you from my experience. I planned to be at my job five years. I stayed ten years, over nine of that I was job sharing. When I left, my partner stayed. I actually had started Work Muse and been researching for Work Muse for a year before I left. So, I was able to very quickly train her and her partner to get them onramped into their partnership and make sure they were the right match, the right fit, they had the right things in place, from the very beginning. And that partner stayed with her. So you can see, this can create a decades-long institutional knowledge. You’re not having to go retrain people. You’re not having to go out and recruit people. The job share partner helps with that in most cases, as they should.

Think about that for just a moment. I want to give you just a moment to think about that because it’s kind of incredible to wrap your head around

When PwC analyzed their job sharing program, they found job share teams consistently outperformed individual contributors on client satisfaction and project outcomes.

The cost of doing nothing is enormous—not just in turnover and recruitment costs, but in the talent you’re losing to companies that understand this.

But here’s my challenge to you: What if instead of trying to fix broken people, you fixed the broken structures?

What if you let go of the outdated belief that face time equals commitment? What if you stopped assuming that high-impact work can only be done solo? What if you embraced a model that’s worked for nearly five decades but is one of the least utilized, most innovative, and definitely, more urgent than ever given our health crisis?

Personal Reflection

You know what I think about when I look at my daughter graduating? I think about all those school events I was able to attend because I had four days off a week. All those field trips that I was able to chaperone. All of my involvement for her PTA and raising money for her school, which was one of those schools that kind of falls between the cracks. All those afternoons I could pick her up from school and actually listen to her day instead of rushing to squeeze in more work calls. More emails. More text messages. 

I think about how job sharing didn’t just give me work-life balance—it gave me a life worth balancing.

And I think about the working parents I talk to now who. They ones who are so burned out they can barely remember their kids’ teachers’ names, let alone show up present for the moments that matter. I mean, present, not doing all the things. I’m not talking about the mental load. I’m not talking about the unpaid labor of being a parent. I’m talking about being present. That’s what is put on the backburner. That’s what falls under the gutter, right? 

This doesn’t have to be the story. We can do better.

If you’re an employee listening to this, I mean, I want you to share this episode with someone who has the power to change things—your boss, your HR team, your company’s flexible work champion. They’re around you, you need to look for them. Start the conversation.

If you are a people leader, this is your invitation to think bigger. Consider a pilot program. Explore job sharing for your most demanding roles. Because this moment requires bold solutions, not just better band-aids.

And if you’re feeling overwhelmed right now, if you’re barely keeping it together, I want you to know: It’s not you. It’s the system. And the system can change.

Closing

Before I go, I want to hear from you on this one. What have been your biggest mental health challenges at work, and how are you navigating them? Leave me a voice memo. You can do that through the podcast app. DM me on LinkedIn, or share your thoughts in the Job Share, Live Life + Slay Work Facebook Community. It’s a very supportive community, if you haven’t joined already. But I really really want to hear from you.   

This is an important conversation we are having at Work Muse, and it doesn’t end here. In the show notes, you’ll find links to Episode 30, where I shared my personal coping strategies for the instability of 2025 (i know we are all very concerned), and Episode 41 with Mary Kaye and Sommer on how job sharing literally saved their well-being.

I mean, Mary Kaye’s cardiologist put it to her. He said, you know, “Your commute, your unreasonably demanding sales job, it is literally taking days off your life. You have got to make a change.”

Let’s take better care of ourselves. And let’s build work cultures that actually help us do it. We can do it! Remember, when it comes to changing things—for yourself, for your team who I know you care so much about, for your company—it’s all in you, friend.

See you next week, same time, same place. Bye for now!