A: Job sharing is a Covid-19 solution for employers AND you. In addition to its regular personal and professional benefits, sharing your job will help you:

• Practice radical care for yourself and your family by handing over the work baton for half the week.
• Manage your well-being with a built-in support system (AKA your job share partner) and rest, recharge, and return to work ready to slay every week.
• Help your boss shine by attracting and retaining diverse talent during a time of unprecedented burnout.

A: Although around 20% of U.S. companies offer job sharing, it still exists in small pockets and remains virtually unheard of. And job sharing is not for everyone. In addition, employers fear an unfamiliar way of working that seems complex. The truth is, while job sharers need to put in the front-end work, once off the ground, job sharing is straightforward.

The two major barriers to employees seeking a job share partnership are:

• Job sharing is never even considered, they’ve never heard of it, or they have the perception that their company does not offer job sharing, and
• They don’t see a suitable partner at their work and they don’t know how to find one.

A: While not for everyone, job sharing is a great practice for many people. Successful job sharers are often high-achievers with flexible attitudes who work well in a team.

A: Finding your job share partner can seem daunting but it’s easier than you think. You don’t have to work with them or even know them. In fact, when you know what qualities and skills you’re looking for In a compatible partner >>> those that fill in your gaps <<<, you’ll start seeing potential partners everywhere.

A: No, you don’t! Job sharers often negotiate a prorated salary and benefits. In addition, they lean into their strengths and leverage the skill sets of two to achieve more together. In fact, they are so successful that over 70% who apply are promoted as a team.1

A: Incredibly, job sharing works in most roles including:

• Sales and client-facing,
• Leadership and team management,
• Strategic and knowledge-based,
• Fast-paced or highly transactional,
• Even senior roles in global, fast-paced organizations.

A.  Yes, job sharing is flexible. There are many ways to implement a job share. Bottom line: the arrangement should be designed around the needs of the role. Job sharers have flexible attitudes; they cover one another during leave and attend important meetings on “off” days.

A. The face of work is changing; three trends and one global pandemic support the adoption of job sharing more than ever:

3 Trends

1. Globalization and digital overtime have created 24/7 work demands leaving employees burned out. The pandemic has made it worse. If your company is actively looking for ways to combat burnout and turnover, job sharing is an effective option. You get full coverage at your current pace while your employees continue to work in a high-impact role—just on a part-time basis—while covering the full workweek you need.
   

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2. We work in a sharing economy with more project-based, collaborative working. Job sharers work in a team of two every day; they are excellent communicators, problem solvers, and collaborators.
   

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3. While automation and AI threaten an estimated half of U.S. jobs3, there is one thing we know: the jobs remaining will be human-centric. With that, the identified skills of creative problem solving, collaboration, adaptability, and time management—the very skills job sharers shine in—will reign. With fewer jobs, job sharing will fulfill a societal good: putting humans to work while benefiting the bottom line.

1 Global Pandemic

1. Covid-19 changed the face of work with sudden remote working. Its uptake means companies can take advantage of a larger talent pool and time differences with job sharing. And people who’ve shifted their priorities are demanding a more humane way to work. As a result, companies are open to new ways of working, especially those that focus on wellness, like job sharing. Job sharing is a Covid-19 workplace solution.

A: Yes, job sharing is a solid strategy to promote workplace diversity and achieve your company’s diversity goals. Job sharing will help your diversity program attract and retain:

• Women with a decade or more in their professions who become pregnant, have children or return to the workforce
• Millennials and Gen Z who like working in teams and want to work flexibly because they don’t want the stress their parents experienced from working long hours
• Boomers who are experienced leaders who take pride in their accomplishments and yearn to pass on wisdom to new generations
• Learners looking to increase their knowledge and career goals while earning an advanced degree
• Caregivers to children, a spouse, or aging parents
• Veterans returning to civilian life who are able to ramp up with the professional development, structure, and support a job share provides
• The disabled community who’d like to advance their careers but need a part-time schedule

A: Yes! Research proves gender and ethnically diverse companies financially outperform peers.2 However, hiring diverse talent without creating an inclusive culture does not yield sustainable results.

The way we work has changed – globalization, remote working, and technology have upsides, but sometimes we lose the in-office connections employees value. Job share partners work in a team of two every day; pairing partners of diverse backgrounds leads to a deeper understanding and appreciation of their differences.

Job share programs are an innovative talent strategy—a DEI super tool—to create more inclusive workspaces. It’s time for companies to re-imagine work with:

• Cross-generational job sharing – i.e. boomer and millennial
• Cross-gender job sharing – women and men
• Cross-gender identification job sharing – straight and LGBTQIA
• Cross-cultural job sharing – people of different ethnicities, faiths, or cultures
• Cross-global job sharing – people of different regions or countries

A: Yes, job sharing is a key piece to achieving gender equity.

Companies with job sharing:

• Retain new moms – According to Lean In, 43% opt-out or drop out after children, despite only 2% planning to
• Retain mid-to-senior women who are overwhelmingly caregivers to aging parents
• Promote women to senior roles – who’d be passed up or opt-out due to their lack of flexibility and time & travel demands
• Support cultivation of equity at home – Each partner lead parents for half the week, then hands over the baton!

A: Yes. Cross-generational job sharing is a talent strategy to pair people of different ages for professional development. The younger employee learns from the older employee’s years of experience and institutional knowledge, while the older employee learns from the younger employee’s technical expertise.

Cross-generational job sharing is a succession planning strategy to pass institutional knowledge, business relationships, and know-how from one near-retiring employee to the next, with little to no training costs.

Companies can keep the experienced employee longer and when they do retire, their decades-long relationships and know-how are easily transfered to their interchangeable job share partner, saving the company substantial loss.

A: A Job Share Program is an innovative talent solution during this unprecedented time. In addition, your company will benefit from the increased productivity and solution-driven results job share teams yield by leveraging the skill sets of two employees in one position.

Here’s how job sharing will help your company during COVID-19:

1. Prevent job layoffs by eliminating a position, not an employee – Early in the pandemic, top economists started suggesting work-sharing, and even job sharing, to ease the psychological and layoff pain resulting from COVID-19. When companies found themselves faced with the hard reality of cutting overhead and talent, job sharing was a way to eliminate a position without eliminating an employee.  Without a social safety net, an unprecedented number of Americans left the workforce during The Great Resignation of 2021. Employers pivoted to find and hire sought-after talent, but in 2022, the global economy is shifting downward once again. Now, retaining talent, just on a reduced schedule, is a solution to reduce recruitment costs while ensuring companies are ready to forge ahead poised to attract the most sought-after talent.
   

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2. Retain and recruit talent whose priorities have shifted – When companies need to compete for top talent who’ve shifted their work and life priorities, job sharing is the competitive advantage employees will not find at the competition, enabling them to find a true work-life balance while advancing in their careers.
   

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3. Support working parents without childcare – Job Sharing uniquely allows working parents without reliable childcare or school to separate and prioritize work and life to bring their best, even within their home. Employers get full workweek coverage while employees keep pace with 24/7 work demands. Job sharers work half the week, handing over the work baton to their capable partners the other half so that they can care for their families. Work happens seamlessly, and employees find a sustainable work-life balance.
   

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4. Increase employee well-being while decreasing added stress to managers -Managers face new challenges during COVID-19: how to support the well-being of a chronically stressed workforce demanding a more humane way to work while managing a team. All while they are likely in the same boat as those they manage. Some companies have responded with wellness perks and time off; job sharing decreases this need. In fact, job sharing enables employees to rest, recharge, and return engaged each week, all while work happens continuously. A Gallup survey of 2 million reveals the number one factor for employee happiness at work is having a work best friend. It’s one reason research proves job sharers to be among the happiest, most productive, and loyal employees. During the pandemic, job share partners fulfill a vital role as accountability partners who are a support system for one another, taking additional pressure off of already-stressed managers.
   

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5. Increase employee engagement during a time of instability and low morale – A decade-plus after the Great Recession, many remember the long-time toll layoffs and cost-cutting measures took on employee engagement. The instability of a down economy can leave employee morale bankrupt and burnout and turnover high. During an unprecedented time of personal and professional stress, with the added fears of illness and economic uncertainty, job sharing will increase employee engagement with accountability teams that leverage two skill sets to achieve their goals while supporting and motivating one another.
   

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6. Maintain coverage during leave due to Illness – Job share partners often cover one another during medical or parental leave. During a time when a majority of Americans have and continue to contract COVID-19, job sharing is an innovative work coverage solution. Ordinarily, the workload would fall on already stressed employees or managers to simply “cover” work, unfamiliar with the position’s day-to-day responsibilities. But job share teams are uniquely suited to step in and ensure seamless work coverage should one partner become ill or need a leave of absence.