Melissa NicholsoN INTRO

MELISSA NICHOLSON: I’ve been where you are. I was an equal breadwinner carrying the benefits for our family with a self-employed husband. I was nervous about what job sharing could mean to my income. I want you to know that while I understand that these concerns are valid since I’ve had every one of them myself. They feel very real. But I also know that they are myths.  I’m sharing not only how you not only can afford to job share, you can’t afford not to job share.

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 INTRO

MELISSA NICHOLSON:

Hey there, it’s Mel. I am so glad you are here. Welcome to the final episode of our myth-busting series! We’ve come so far together over these past few weeks, and I’m honestly getting a little emotional thinking about how this series wraps up just as we’re heading into what I call the “September Surge.”

You know what I’m talking about—that post-Labor Day energy when hiring picks up, when companies are back in full swing, and when bosses are actually in the perfect headspace to consider new ideas—new, exciting ideas, like job sharing. Think about it: they’ve just had their own summer slowdowns, prioritized their families, focused on their wellness, and now they are thinking differently about work-life balance—not just for themselves, but for their teams too.

This is exactly why I brought you this actionable, lesson-focused series starting in August, when most people are checked out and abandoning their career goals altogether. While everybody else was hitting snooze on their big dreams, you, my friend, you have been here doing the work, learning, and preparing for this moment.

Over the past four episodes, we’ve tackled the five biggest myths that stop people from creating job shares: not having enough time, thinking your job can’t be shared, worrying your boss won’t approve it, not knowing how to find a partner, and today’s big one—thinking you can’t afford to job share.

Here’s what I know from my own experience and from helping so many people over the past decade: I was an equal breadwinner carrying the benefits for our family with a self-employed husband. I was nervous about what job sharing could mean to my income and my career. Those concerns felt so real and valid—because I’ve had every single one of them myself.

But here’s the truth I want you to walk away with today: you don’t just afford to job share—you can’t afford NOT to job share. And I’m going to show you exactly why.

WHY YOU CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO JOB SHARE

MELISSA: So, let’s dive in to dispel Myth Number Five: I can’t afford to job share, or I don’t have the money to invest in creating a job share, especially when I’ll be giving up a percentage of my income to do it.  And I want to talk about that.

In this value-packed episode, I’m sharing how you not only can afford to job share, you can’t afford not to job share.

I think this really will be eye-opening to you if you’re hesitant to job share due to financial concerns. Maybe you think you will have to give up half of your income and benefits to do it, or that it will stagnate your career and scream that you are less committed and not a serious leader if you want to job share, which is not true. You don’t have to give up half your salary or benefits to do it, and it won’t be a career killer. At all. Or maybe you’re worried about just getting back in after a layoff or career break, you don’t have a job to share, and besides that, you need to get back to solid income and benefits with a way to progress in your career. Seems like a totally legit concern. If so, I’ve got especially good news for you, friend. And as a side note, inside Job Share Academy, I teach my students step-by-step how to vet and find your perfect job share partner, one who’s got the expertise to elevate you and your career.

Let’s get to it. If you’re multi-tasking, come back to me, friend. This is a meaty episode, and you’ll want to listen, soak it all in, and come back to take notes. I’m going to share five ways you can save money right off the bat by job sharing. First and foremost, if you’re a parent, you will be saving significant money on childcare costs by job sharing, especially if your children are in preschool, but also if they are school-aged with aftercare and summer childcare costs.

You may have heard about the childcare crisis across the U.S., with a new report showing that if you have two kids, your childcare is more expensive than rent in every single state, and in eleven states, it’s double. Gee whiz, isn’t that crazy?   Let’s say you work in the most typical job share, working a three-day workweek. That means you could save 40% of your monthly childcare costs. That adds up and is likely a five-figure dollar amount yearly. Put a pen to paper. Check that out. Geez Louise.

Here are four other areas that might save you considerable money, depending on whether you are in-office, hybrid, or remote. The second highest cost savings you’ll likely benefit from is gas costs, and third, the automobile maintenance due to wear and tear on your vehicle, which you’ll use half as much. Fourth is your food costs. Not only will you be at work fewer days, but when you are there, you’ll find that you work in a whole other way—this efficient, focused way, without running in and out to doctor appointments or taking long lunches anymore. In fact, except for my shared day with my amazing job share partner, I brought my lunch from home. Wednesdays were my only lunch-out day. Like a special date night, er, date day with my job share partner. We’d catch up on everything. That’s the thing about job sharing, you never get sick of your partner because you only see them once a week, usually! It’s like a mutual admiration day when most people can barely get through hump day. Wednesdays are so much fun for job share partners! Okay, I digress. Okydoky, the fifth savings area is your work wardrobe since you’ll simply be there half as much.

I’m sure there are other savings areas too, so if you’re a job sharer listening, because I know we have a lot of job sharers also listening to Jobshare Revolution, you can text me through your app and let me know if there’s another one I’ve forgotten. I love crowdsourcing and connecting with my job sharers out there! I’ll share it and even shout you out on the pod.

So now that you know the five cost-saving areas you can expect by sharing your job. Let’s talk about your career and income potential. That’s right.

When I started thinking about job sharing, I mean, I admit the benefits to my career and income weren’t top of mind—a better work-life balance, work-life compatibility, and flexibility, were. However, I knew from working alongside a job share team at my very first job post-college that job sharing did not carry the same limitations as part-time working could. As an equal breadwinner carrying the benefits for our family, I did worry that it could negatively impact my career and income. Lucky for me, my “why” as a new mom barely pulling it together, totally struggling and feeling like a total failure at work and with my newborn, was so strong. That was why it was so strong, I was able to completely compartmentalize my fears to just focus on my goal of job sharing. I really credit that and having an example of a job share team early in my career as the two things that just propelled me toward my job share. And I want you to think through things like that because those things matter.

What a relief it would have been to not only have considered the more obvious money-saving areas of sharing my job we’ve just discussed, from job sharing, but to have known job sharing could be a career and income booster for me. And that’s no joke. It really was.

Among others, consider these three ways that job sharing can be a career and income booster: First, job shares are a negotiation. Did you hear me? Job shares are a negotiation with the goal of prorating your salary, your sick and PTO, and retaining full-time benefits. Like anything that you are going for in your career – a promotion, a raise, a new job, a flexible work practice, working remotely, working a condensed workweek, whatever it may be. Job sharing is a negotiation, and you’ve got to approach it that way.

Second, job sharing can be a career booster with built-in professional development when sharing another person’s job, whether relaunching after a career break, layoff, or changing careers. Also, entering your arrangement in your job share partner’s job can allow you to bypass interview woes, ageism, and career stepbacks due to resume gaps. And we’ve all heard that, you know, it’s really tough when women take a career break to care for children at the beginning and later for their parents, because it affects their long-term retirement savings down the line. And it’s just a pace they typically cannot get back in their career. Job sharing has that unique ability to actually make up the lost gap you have and get back in at a higher level than you otherwise would be able to do on your own. Does that make sense?

Third, and my very favorite little-known fact about job sharing, the majority of job sharers rise through the ranks, promoted together, leveraging those two skill sets in one full-time position.

Now when you first heard about job sharing, maybe you thought. ​“Job sharing sounds amazing if only I could afford to do it.” But job sharing doesn’t mean giving up half your salary. If you create your job share the right way (AKA the Job Share Academy way or the JSA way, which I show you step-by-step how to do inside the program, you’ll negotiate a prorated salary and benefits. While you’ll exchange a percentage of income for time initially, you are much more likely to be among the nearly three-quarters of job share teams who are promoted together or those who work so productively at a commissioned position, that you who make nearly as much or even more than you did working full time. I did. I’d made 90% of my previous year’s income by the end of year one.

That’s another thing I teach you inside the program: how to rise through the ranks primed as a SuperTeam. How to work with your stakeholders and leverage your job share to progress your career, even with those who might be skeptical, have misconceptions, or even jealousy of your arrangement. I’ll teach you the systems and processes to onramp your job share with ease and liftoff from Day One. How not just negotiate your arrangement, but exactly what to put in your proposal and your agreement so it values your expertise and your job share from the start. And since your career is not a straight line, none of ours are, you’ll learn how to enter in and out of job sharing at the exact time you not only need to, but when you want to, so you’re never trapped in a stagnant job or partnership, or forced back into full-time working. Yes, that is all inside Job Share Academy.

Conclusion

So to summarize: Simply by job sharing, you will save money on some expenses like childcare, gas, vehicle maintenance, food, and wardrobe while you’re able to elevate your career and paycheck strategically in three ways: First, negotiating your job share, Secondly, if on the job hunt or relaunching after a career break, promote yourself and give yourself a raise and a dream job by sharing you partner’s job with built-in professional development. And lastly, promotion with your partner.

As if that wasn’t mind-blowing enough, here’s the aha my friend: What sets job sharing apart is that you won’t just be working flexibly, you’ll be working differently—in an efficient, productive team of two. Better yet? You don’t have to go it alone in this or even future jobs by charting your big career moves together as a team. In this challenging, chaotic time and job market, doesn’t that sound so good? So comforting, to know you have a 50-50 partner in it with you. The good, the bad, the ugly. You don’t have to do it alone. Now or maybe ever again.

And there you have it, friend—we’ve officially busted all five myths that keep people from pursuing the work-life balance they deserve! Over these four episodes, we’ve covered everything: why you DO have time to create a job share, how your job absolutely CAN be shared, the exact steps to get your boss excited about and approving it, where to find your perfect partner, and now, why you can’t afford to wait any longer, my friend.

This September Surge that we are in right now? It’s your time. Your bosses are back from summer with fresh perspectives on what really matters. They’ve been thinking about their own wellness, their own families, and they’re primed to consider innovative solutions like job sharing that can transform their teams.

That’s exactly why I timed this series for now—while everyone else was in summer mode, you’ve been preparing. You’ve been learning. You’ve been getting ready to make your move when the timing couldn’t be better.

If you’re ready to take the next step and want that step-by-step blueprint of how to create your job share, complete with case studies across industries, grab the Work Muse Guide to Job Sharing at workmuse.com/guide. It’s your roadmap to making this dream a reality.

I hope this myth-busting series has given you the confidence and clarity you need to take that next bold step and truly live life while slaying work. And I hope our bimonthly summer schedule honored your summer pace while still bringing you real value. That’s my goal. 

Starting next week, we’re back to our weekly Tuesday episodes, and I cannot wait to continue this journey with you. Until then, remember friend, it is all in you. And your job share is waiting to transform your life.