Want Flexibility? Try Job-Sharing

If you want greater flexibility in your life, and you can afford to cut back on the time spent in your regular profession, you may want to consider job-sharing. This is a venture whereby 2 persons share a full-time job. The advantage is obvious- it allows a person to maintain their professional skill set and status, but permits flexibility with respect to time for other endeavors.

Normally, in a job-sharing arrangement, one person works 3 days per week, and the other person works 2 days per week. However, the division of work is at the discretion of the employees and employer. Salary is of course split, based on the time each spends on the job. If the employer offers full benefit to part-time employees, then each person job-sharing may receive full benefits. However, if part-time employees do not receive full benefits, the formula is more complicated- it may be that one person will forgo benefits and the other person will retain full benefits.

Job-sharing is increasingly accepted, as a legitimate means of allowing a workforce to attract and retain qualified professionals who would otherwise be leaving the workforce for various reasons. However, it is still sufficiently novel that, in many organizations, it may be a "tough sell". Accordingly, be prepared to propose the plan to your employer, with all details mapped out, and agreed to between yourself and the proposed job sharing partner.

If you are interested in a job-sharing arrangement, you will have to begin by ascertaining your proposed schedule and finding a work sharing partner. It is imperative that the person you choose be responsible, competent, communicative and compatible with your own work style. Anticipate the heightened need for documenting tasks accomplished and tasks which need to be completed within a prescribed time.