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How to job share

By Nathalie Towner

Job sharing is frequently overlooked when people think of flexible working. Yet it’s a great option for anyone who wants to work part-time, as it allows two people to share responsibility for a full-time job. Organisations also gain by having two employees bringing different experiences and skills to the post. Job sharers need to be well organised and it takes a lot of work to make the arrangement successful.

1 What is a job share?

It involves two people splitting a full-time job and is possible at all levels, junior and senior. The job sharers both work part-time and split the pay according to the number of hours worked. “When you start out you need to consider the personalities and styles of the two people involved,” says Rebecca Clake, advisor for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. “The most important thing is to spend time planning in advance how it will work.”

2 Develop a working relationship

 “It was particularly important early on to have overlapping days. It really does pay dividends to spend days together at the beginning. You need time to develop the relationship,” says Ann Davison, who job shares as carers’ strategic development manager at Cambridgeshire Council.  “It will make or break the job, as otherwise minor irritations could make the situation untenable,” she adds.

3 Know the whole job

“We decided between us how we were going to split the work,” explains Ann Davison. It is not two part-time jobs, as the work must be carried out as if one person were working full-time. “In reality there will be an element of divvying up who does what,” says Clake. “It is important though that it works as one job and both individuals need knowledge of the whole job.” Davison agrees and says considerable time is spent sharing news and discussing how something should be done. “There is a lot of overlap but we also have our particular responsibilities,” she says. Davison also has a three-way meeting booked in once a month with her job sharer and line manager to discuss strategic decisions where they all need to be present.

4 Communicate

It’s also important that other colleagues understand the concept of job sharing. “When two people are wondering how to work together they need to think about communication,” says Clake. “If they’re dealing with service users it has to be clear to them how it will work with two people in the job.” Many job-sharers will have cross-over time in the office so they get a chance to share information. You can keep a log of everything that is going on. Some people will even be happy to be contacted on their days off if it helps the whole process operate more smoothly. “You have to invest time in establishing ground rules,” says Davison.

5 Career development

Job sharing is not that common but it is destined to grow in popularity as more people choose to work flexibly. “Job sharing is a great way of allowing more women to have access to more interesting jobs,” says Davison. “I’m surprised by just how satisfying it is and I really value my relationship with my job share colleague and we put in a lot of effort to make it work.”

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