With workers in search of new, flexible ways of working, job sharing could soon be making a comeback.
We cover why job sharing could be the perfect working option for you, what to consider as both an employer and an employee, and how to make job sharing work.
Want to skip to the most relevant bits? You can do so here:
- What is job sharing?
- What is the difference between job sharing and a part-time job?
- What are the benefits of job sharing for the employer?
- What are the benefits of job sharing for the employee?
- How does job sharing work?
- Which employers offer job sharing?
- Things to consider before taking a job share
- How to do job sharing successfully
- Crafting a convincing proposal for your employer
What is job sharing?
Job sharing is when two or more employees share full-time equivalent hours for the same job. This doesn’t always mean that hours are split 50/50, for example, one person might work two days, while the other works three. Some employers might create a job share that equates to slightly more than a full-time equivalent, to allow for collaboration points for sharers across the week. Whatever happens, a job share leads to a net reduction in salary for the employee.
What is the difference between job sharing and a part-time job?
Part-time jobs are usually in place when a role is only required for a certain number of hours each week. This could be because a business has limited hours of operation (for example in hospitality), has a limited budget for a role, or simply because the team is small and only requires part-time hours for that position.
Job shares are roles where there is a need and a budget for full-time hours and a role is split. As most senior roles are not advertised part-time, job sharing allows people to enter into and stay in senior positions when they otherwise would not have been able to.
Is job sharing just for working moms?
Job sharing has long been something that appeals to working moms, and with good reason, it’s a fantastic way to continue to progress in your career while reducing hours for childcare.
However, job sharing is for more than just moms.
For creatives who want to set up a business or enter the world of freelancing, a job share could be just the financial security blanket they need.
For students too, job sharing provides a solution for those looking to work in professional-level roles while they study. This is particularly true for those re-entering education after a significant period of employment.
Job sharing could also be the solution to equity, diversity, and inclusion challenges in the workplace. Caring responsibilities can have a significant impact on the work trajectory of the carer, and this especially impacts women. Current workplace predictions suggest it will take 30 years for women to catch up to men’s participation rate in the labor force. What’s more, as many as two-thirds of professional women could be working below their potential when they return to work from career breaks, mainly due to very few senior positions offering part-time hours. Job sharing is just one of the ways to accelerate both participation and the advancement of women into senior positions.
For disabled people, only 21% of whom are employed, the part-time working opportunities allowed by job sharing could increase participation in employment. Again this would help boost the diversity of employees and particularly boost diversity at the top of organizations, something that has long been lacking.
What are the benefits of job sharing for the employer?
Increased productivity. Research has shown that a job sharing team of two is 30% more productive than a single full-time counterpart.
There’s more flexibility. If predecessors in a role have continually burnt out due to too much workload, employers could choose to create a role that is a six-day, rather than a five-day equivalent. This could allow two people to work three days a week, with an entire day for collaboration, boosting output to 120% plus a 30% productivity boost.
Employers gain more skills. No two people are the same, and with a job share, an employer is gaining two people’s insights, ideas, and skills. Say for example two sharers both have 10 years of experience, then an employer gains 20 years of experience. As they say, two heads are better than one.
A new talent pool is unlocked. With more flexibility, employers are increasing the talent pool from which they can hire, and boosting their employee retention too.
Coverage during periods of sickness or annual leave. When one part of the job share is out of office for whatever reason, some continuity is provided by their counterpart(s).
What are the benefits of job sharing for the employee?
Increased productivity and creativity. By enabling a better work-life balance, and potentially allowing people to work on more than one project, job sharing creates a more productive and creative environment.
Improved work-life balance. Regardless of why job sharing might benefit you (health, caring responsibilities, entrepreneurial pursuits, work-life balance, etc), part-time working arrangements can enable employees to work in a way that suits them.
Enhanced job satisfaction. For those people who would have previously had to take a lower role to work part-time, job sharing allows career advancement in a more stimulating and challenging role.
There’s someone there to pick up the slack. Rather than going away on annual leave and dreading a full inbox on return, a job share means that there’s someone around who’s been able to keep things moving. Your job sharer is a teammate, and you support each other throughout any highs and lows.
How does job sharing work?
At the moment, a job applicant, or current employee, goes to an employer asking for a job share. Once approved it is usually down to the employee (or soon-to-be employee) to find a suitable candidate to share the role.
For many, this is the tough part, as unless you have an extensive network of people at a similar career point with similar skills, it can take a very long time to find the right person.
If you’re lucky enough to find someone who passes any interviews and stipulations set by your employer, you will then go about deciding your ways of working. This could include the hours you both work, points in the week where there is a crossover in hours for collaboration, any key areas of the role that will be owned by a specific person, and how best you both communicate.
In some cases, where employers share that they are open to job shares, job sharers can apply as a team, usually with a clear idea of how this will work.
Which employers offer job sharing?
Adzuna data shows that job sharing is on the rise in the US. The proportion of job ads on our site mentioning that the position is suitable for a job share has nearly doubled since the pandemic, rising from 0.013% in January 2020 to 0.02% in January 2024. However, this still only accounts for 1,532 job ads – a tiny number.
Table 1: Job sharing trends within US job ads
| Month | Advertised vacancies explicitly stating they are open to job sharing | Proportion of overall job ads citing job sharing |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2020 (pre pandemic) | 603 | 0.013% |
| Oct 2023 | 1,849 | 0.022% |
| Nov 2023 | 1,795 | 0.021% |
| Dec 2023 | 1,696 | 0.023% |
| Jan 2024 | 1,532 | 0.021% |
Our advice is not to let this put you off! Wider estimates suggest around a fifth of employers are open to job sharing arrangements. This means it’s worth exploring job sharing with the hiring team, even if a job ad for a doesn’t explicitly mention it as an option.
For employers, considering if a position could be a job share and adding a statement to that effect on the job posting could be a great way to stand out from the crowd and attract top talent.
Things to consider before taking a job share
There are, in reality, lots of positives to job sharing for both employers and employees, but it is certainly not for everyone. Make sure you weigh the pros and cons.
Finances. Ask yourself if job sharing is financially sustainable. Job sharing takes time and effort. For your employer, there are two employee contracts to sort, two people to onboard, and two people to set up on IT. For you, there’s the time it takes to adapt to a new way of working. All of this means that job sharing isn’t a short-term option. You don’t want to get everything in place only to let down your employer or the person you’re job sharing with, so make sure that this is something that you can financially afford long term.
Your way of working and how you manage people. Successful job sharing partnerships are ideal for people who work in similar ways to one another. This could be as simple as how organized you are, how you like to communicate, and how you do your work. You and your job share must be aligned, especially when it comes to how you manage people, no one likes a good cop, bad cop scenario.
How you measure performance. This is more complex when a job share is not a straight 50/50 split of time and role. When a share is more complex, or certain responsibilities are given to one half of the pairing, then this is where things can get messy. Make sure you know exactly what each individual’s KPIs are, especially if this is a new partnership.
Time management. If the drumbeat of a role means that the start of the week is busier, bring this into consideration. This might mean that a split down the middle on a Wednesday lunchtime could lead to an unfair balance of workload.
Use technology to your advantage. Whether you use technology to communicate with your job share or with the rest of your team, to manage and define tasks, or to keep processes in place, it can be a great tool for success!
Consider what happens if your job share leaves. For some people, it could take years to find someone whom they trust and respect enough to enter into a job sharing arrangement. However, life happens and things change so always consider what happens if the other person (or you) wants to leave. Could this mean you need to go back to working full-time? How easily could you find a replacement?
How to do job sharing successfully
Once you’ve weighed up the pros and cons of job sharing and considered exactly how this might work, you need to make sure you and your sharer(s) are all on the same team.
Invest time in understanding each other’s working style. Not only is this important before agreeing to this kind of arrangement, but it’s also beneficial moving forward. You don’t need to work in the same way, in fact, sometimes opposites attract. One important alignment though is your values.
Set up a clear handover process. If there isn’t a regular crossover of your hours this is extra important. Make sure you are aware of the work that’s been done and what you need to do to get that over the line.
Create clear boundaries. And stick to them! Make sure that you both know your hours of work and your responsibilities and you respect those. If things start to crack, the way you communicate how you’re feeling and what’s going on could be make or break.
Stand united. Use “us” and “we” language in communications to show that you’re very much operating as a team. If someone on your team would rather speak to one job-sharer over another, address this head-on to ensure you’re both getting the same level of respect and insight.
Communication is key. We’ve said it throughout all of these tips but communication is key when entering into a job sharing agreement. To the person you’re sharing with, your teammates, colleagues, and your colleagues too.
Crafting a convincing proposal for your employer
If you’re lucky enough to be in a role you love but for whatever reason would like to explore job sharing, make sure, in the first instance that you communicate this, informally at first with your employer.
Some, larger organizations will have a job-sharing policy in place, while others will not know where to start.
In general, you’ll be expected to craft a proposal, detailing why job sharing would be of benefit to you as an employee and them as an employee. Use some of the information above as a place to start, but try and use examples that are specific to you, your employer, and your industry too.
Find an advocate. Normally this would be someone in HR who will be able to guide you through the process and support you through some of the more tricky meetings that might take place. This person could also be someone more senior to you, like a supportive line manager, or someone specifically working in equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Understand the drivers of your company. This could be boosting employee retention, developing a more productive workplace, or goals that they have set around equity and inclusion. Spend time exploring recent annual company reports, and the mission, vision, and values of the organization.
Appeal to their personal side. This is especially important if you’re asking for a job share because you need more of a work-life balance. Take the opportunity to emphasize your value to the company and why you as a person need this change. If you are looking to do your own thing like freelance, emphasize how what you learn in another role could help them as a business.
Create a clear plan of action. If you already know who you’d like to share your role with, then even better. Ideally, your employer will want to see timeframes, the support you need, and how much the process of getting a second person will cost them.
Remember, your proposal can be presented in a variety of different ways. It could be a presentation, a letter to HR, or a conversation. Where possible, let your employer know how they’d like the information presented.
Final takeaways
It’s clear that job sharing has many benefits to the employer and the employee, and in the search for new ways of working, something that’s been around for a long time like job sharing should not be overlooked.
Job sharing isn’t a temporary fix, and it’s far from a straightforward change to our ways of working. Time, effort, and open communication are all necessary to ensure successful job-sharing relationships.
Read more: Top 12 workplaces for equity, diversity & inclusion initiatives