How to Suggest Job Sharing to Your Manager

Job sharing is when two employees split the hours and duties of one full-time job. This can provide employees with more flexibility to fulfill personal responsibilities and goals. Formulate a plan to divide the work and tackle potential issues before bringing the subject to your manager.

By Lora Korpar

Teamwork is always a workplace asset. And in some cases, a team of two can decide to share one job.

Job sharing is when an organization allows two employees to share a full-time job. This means each employee works on a part-time schedule, but their combined hours equate to one full-time job’s hours.

This practice is rare. Melissa Nicholson, the founder of job-sharing firm Work Muse, told Fast Company she estimates only 1-2% of the U.S. workforce job shares a position.?

However, don’t let that deter you from asking your manager about job sharing if this idea appeals to you. Determine whether it is the best course of action, find a job-sharing partner, then brainstorm a plan to make job sharing convenient for you and your employer.

Why Do People Choose Job Sharing?

Flexibility is the job sharing concept’s main draw. People have many reasons for seeking greater flexibility at work. Maybe they recently became a parent or caregiver. It could be that a chronic illness makes them unable to work full-time. Or they want to devote time to a hobby, creating a new business, or a second part-time job.

“Sometimes you are overloaded with work,” said career coach and resume writer Tristan Layfield. “So therefore, it could be very useful to split this work into two roles. There are many reasons why people decide to hop into a job sharing position, but it usually has to deal with work-life balance or some semblance of efficiency or productivity.”

Job sharing can be a great way to dip a toe into a new industry without diving right into a full-time job. Also, having a second person’s help at work appeals to many people.?

“When you work a full-time role, you don't always have that additional support or a partner that you can bounce those ideas off of who knows exactly what job it is you have,” said career and leadership coach Chelsea Jay. “So they're able to give you that feedback, which is a benefit.”

How to Create a Job-Sharing Plan

Telling your manager you’d like to try job sharing can be scary. Formulate a plan for how the job sharing will work to prepare yourself for this conversation.?

“If this is something that you're proposing to your manager and it's a newer role or hasn't been done before, I always recommend creating an outline [that is] pretty much a job description so you can show them it is well thought-out,” Jay said. “Also, make sure to pick the job duties that you want to be responsible for… You always want to have a plan and show that you've considered all elements.”

First, determine whether dividing your job without creating major inconveniences is possible. Layfield said to ask yourself the following questions:

• Can you split the time logically and efficiently?
• Can client and co-worker communication still be effective?
• Is there a sense of continuity going from one employee to the next?

Start planning logistics like picking a partner only after you can answer “yes” to these questions. You don’t always have the opportunity to choose your job sharing partner. But if you can, ask a co-worker you trust to be reliable and keep to your schedule.?

Create a list of each of your job’s responsibilities, then mark them as individual or joint. Which tasks can you do individually? What should you split?

“Utilize that sort of categorization to create new job descriptions to show your employer what this would potentially look like,” Layfield said.

Also, determine what kind of schedule works best. Maybe you and your partner can work half-days five days a week. Or you work eight-hour shifts every other day. Another option is having one person work Monday-Wednesday and the other Wednesday-Friday.?

Ask yourselves whether your hours will sometimes overlap. Can you share one office when schedules overlap, or will you need two? Also, plan for how you will proceed on staff meeting days.

“Then from there really establish what I call an SOP — a standard operating procedure — that details functionally how the job sharing and communication are going to be handled,” Layfield said. “Essentially, this SOP is demonstrating to your employer that there won't be a negative impact on the business or its customers.”

Pinpoint potential issues with your job-sharing model, then prepare solutions. Many people detail their job-sharing experiences online, so use that knowledge to avoid their mistakes. And don’t be afraid to contact people with job-sharing experience via email or LinkedIn if you have additional questions when preparing your plan.

How Do You Ask Your Manager About Job Sharing?

Consider your personal and professional goals before entering a job-sharing conversation with your manager. This way, you will know which direction to steer the conversation.

“Are you trying to gain new expertise? Do you want to be reduced down to a part-time role?” Jay said. “Have an idea of what you want to guide that conversation… And if [you want to eventually return to full-time work], talk to your supervisor about the longevity of this role. Is this something that will just be part-time for a year or two? What's your goal with the role?”

Layfield said to frame job sharing as a “business decision” for your employer. Make your case based on how splitting the job can benefit the company.

“We want to make sure that they understand what's in front of them,” Layfield said. “This could be things like letting them know that if you do job sharing, you'll be able to cover PTO and sick time easier. It might give them access to more diversified skills. There's the potential to reduce some supervisor work or to retain top talent who may not be able to provide full-time services.”

The conversation should focus on your job-sharing plan and answering the manager’s questions. You don’t owe your employer an explanation about why you are proposing job sharing, especially if it is for a personal reason. But providing context can help if you are comfortable sharing.

“I always think being open and transparent is key,” Jay said. “It really depends on your relationship with your supervisor and how much you trust them. If you do trust them and they are supportive of your goals, disclosing a little bit of information of why you're interested in doing that does not hurt.”

Companies can benefit from supporting their employees’ needs. Being open to a job-sharing plan will make your employees feel appreciated, which encourages them to put more effort into their job.

Employers can ask the HR department to help fine-tune the job sharing plan to take some of the load off the employee. Also, don’t let the uniqueness of job sharing scare you away from trying it, even if a few hiccups occur in the beginning.

“I think if [employers] partner with employees, everybody can come out as a winner on the other side,” Layfield said. “If this is something that everyone's new to, there are inevitably going to be some issues you encounter as an employer. Can that be detrimental to your bottom line? Sometimes. Sometimes not. But I think it's important to not just pull the plug on the entire job share program because there is an issue.?

“I think it's an opportunity to work with those job share employees to develop solutions and see how we can go through some process improvement, and potentially even make it a model for future jobs or opportunities in the company.”

Top Takeaways

How to Approach Job Sharing with Management

• Job sharing is when two employees split one full-time job.
• Job sharing often appeals to people with outside responsibilities like parenting, caregiving, school, or a second job.
• Formulate a detailed plan for splitting the job before approaching the subject with your manager.
• Consider scheduling, work overlap, responsibility division, and solutions to potential issues in your plan.
• Highlight the benefits job sharing provides the company during the conversation with your manager.