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Job sharing is an employment arrangement where typically two people are retained on a part-time or reduced-time basis to perform a job normally fulfilled by one person working full-time. Compensation is apportioned between the workers, thus leading to a net reduction in per-employee income. Job sharing should not be confused with the more pejorative term featherbedding, which describes the deliberate retention of excess workers on a payroll.

History

The news media began reporting in earnest on job sharing in the 1970s and 1980s. The practice was most often described as a solution tailored for women, as one Associated Press article summarized, "a compromise between fulltime housework and full-time employment". Job sharing became even more prevalent during the 2000s, as women have succeeded professionally in greater numbers and proportionally seek out alternative work arrangements.

The banking, insurance, teaching and library professions are cited as more commonly using job sharing. Some companies that use job sharing include New York Life Insurance Company, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, and Walgreens drugstores.

Advantages and disadvantages

For employees seeking more free time for themselves, job sharing may be a way to take back more control of their personal lives. Employees who job share frequently attribute their decision to "quality of life" issues. Studies have shown that net productivity increases when two people share the same 40-hour job.

However, there is an inherent challenge in making job sharing work for the rest of the company's stakeholders. The "handoff" communication between those sharing the job is essential, and co-workers must adapt to working with, for example, Jimmy being responsible for a task on Monday, but Sue on Tuesday.

See also

• Employment rate
• Jobless recovery
• Personnel selection
• Unemployment
• Work-life balance

Notes

1. ^ Dawn Rosenberg McKay, Job Sharing, An Interview (About.com)
2. ^ Boston (AP), Job sharing may be answer for women, (Rome News-Tribune; 15 August 1972)
3. Robert N. Lussier, Should your organization use job sharing? (Supervision; 1 April 1990)
4. ^ David Javitch, The Pros and Cons of Job Sharing (Entrepreneur.com)
5. Allison Shirreffs, Job-share programs reap financial rewards (Atlanta Business Chronicle; 8 April 2005)

External links

• U.S. Office of Personnel Management

• Labor
• Organizational studies and human resource management
• Working time
• Human resource management
• Stress
• Personal life
• Employment