Job sharing is a creative approach to flexibility that has grown in popularity, particularly among new parents who want to work fewer hours but still stay on track with their careers. People who want to go back to school, pursue intensive hobby activities, or simply remain plugged in but not tied down may also find job sharing an appealing option. Though some jobs are easier to share than others, in most situations where two people want to share a single position, there is a way to make it happen.

In most companies, the important or career-oriented jobs are full-time positions. It's just too much for companies to invest in training lots of people to do pieces of jobs that are critical to the company's success. But these jobs are also demanding. It might be necessary to meet with clients outside regular work hours, or to travel. These demands are difficult for people who also want to spend time with their families or doing other things.

While job sharing primarily benefits the employees who participate, it offers advantages for companies as well. Job sharing can help companies do the following:

• Retain qualified and experienced employees who would otherwise quit or move into part-time jobs

• Improve employee job satisfaction and morale

• Maintain, and in some situations improve, productivity and efficiency

• In some situations, save on benefit expenses

Job sharing is really about sharing time. In exchange for less time spent at work, job-sharing partners gain more time to be with their families, go to school, or enjoy personal interests such as artistic or athletic pursuits. Job sharing can permit employees to care for children or aging parents, return to college or graduate school, take up watercolor, study piano, train for marathons — whatever is important to them.

Job-Share Arrangements for Employees

Generally, an employee who wants to job-share will approach you with a partner in mind. If your company already uses job sharing, there are probably procedures already in place. If job sharing is new to your company, there are numerous books and Web resources on this topic (see Appendix B). The following are some key points to address when considering a job-share request:

• Job tasks: Can the job's tasks and functions be reasonably divided? Will dividing the job create any overlaps or duplication that would not exist if one person did the job? Who responds if there is a problem — the partner “on duty” when the problem arises, or the partner who did the work?

• Communication: How will the job-sharing employees communicate with each other? How will they stay in touch with other work group members, if this is important? Is one of the partners the primary contact, or must each person receive memos, e-mails, telephone calls, and other communication?

• Flexibility and availability: Can the job-sharing partners trade off if they choose? How will this affect their working relationships with you, with other coworkers, and with clients or customers? Will one partner cover if the other is sick or on vacation? Are both partners willing to attend meetings if other team members or customers want them to be there?

• Compatibility: How well do the prospective partners get along with each other? Are their work styles similar? If each does half of a project, will the pieces join seamlessly or will someone else (you!) have to put them together?

• Pay and benefits: How will the job share partners share the job's salary and benefits package? (If your company provides benefits for half-time employees, this might not be an issue.)

• Work space: Will the partners share space in the workplace? Usually this is the case, since they are two people sharing one job and presumably its accoutrements as well as its responsibilities. Each is then responsible for leaving the workspace and its equipment ready for the other to use. Occasionally a manager has the resources to give each job-share partner a separate desk in the same office or even separate computers, but this is often not the case.

• Performance evaluations: How will you evaluate productivity and performance? Are the job-share partners willing to be evaluated on the basis of their work as a team rather than as individuals? Do your company's human resources policies support this?

Ask prospective job-share partners to discuss these and any specific issues relevant to the job they want to share or to your company, first with each other and then with you. Once everyone agrees to the details, put them in writing and have each employee, and you as their manager, sign the agreement. If you are unsure whether the arrangement will meet the needs of your work group or company, establish a test period of three to six months. (Less than this probably won't be enough time to work out any wrinkles so you can get a fair assessment.) Include in the agreement the steps you and the employees will follow to measure the arrangement's success.

Job-Sharing Pitfalls and Risks

Job-share arrangements that fall apart usually do so because the division of responsibilities between partners was not clear or because the partners fail to get along. Some people have trouble giving up decision-making authority, for example. If one job-share partner continually overrides the other's decisions and actions, other employees will become confused about which one of them to talk to. People who have worked in the same work group for a year or two before entering into a job-sharing partnership are more likely to be successful, although some challenges are difficult to see until they hit you in the face. One partner might be fastidious to a fault, while the other is comfortable with a fair amount of disorganization.

Can Managers Job Share?

Job sharing can work at nearly any level within an organization. Whether it will or not depends. It's essential for any job-sharing partners to be compatible. When these partners share a management position, that compatibility must extend both downward (to employees) and upward (to upper management). Employees tend to be leery of situations that make them accountable to two different managers. So a key element of structuring a job-sharing arrangement for a management position is to emphasize the position, not just the people who share it. Some managers find that job sharing works best if they divide the work group into members for which each has responsibility. This way, the work group functions as two teams, each with its own leader. Employees know the nuances of the manager to whom they report, and they worry less about reporting to someone who doesn't know theirs. The drawback to this arrangement is that neither manager is in the office full time, so one must “cover” the team of the other.

Everything that applies to employees who want to job share also applies to managers. Because you are accountable both to the employees who report to you as well as to your superiors, it's critical that you work out every detail of the arrangement before putting it into practice. As a manager, you aren't likely to have the luxury of letting some details work themselves out. It's important that your actions support consistency and cohesiveness within the work group, not jeopardize stability.