Job-sharing is a brilliant solution to a problem most of us don’t even know we have. Just like we did not know we needed the
power of the PC in the palms of our hands.
How do I know? I job-shared over two decades ago when my 2nd child was born.
I was overwhelmed with the responsibilities of work, caring for the kids and running a household. There just weren’t enough hours
in a day to get everything done. The “easy” solution would have been to quit my job. Luckily a co-worker was dealing with the
exact same challenges, so we came up with the idea, put a proposal together to “share” her job and her manager agreed to give it
a try.
There are countless benefits to job-sharing, the greatest of which being that it allowed me to do what is expected of super-moms
and without sinking: balancing a career with motherhood and everything else that comes with it. My friends often asked me
how I did it? Well, job-sharing was a big part of what made it possible. In addition, society overall enjoys an array of
benefits when a greater percentage is engaged in part-time work.
How do you convince a manager to let you “share” the job? Clearly articulate the value and deliver on it.
As I contemplate retirement, I am once again thinking a blend of work and life would be the right balance for me.
Job-sharing would allow me to stay intellectually engaged while having more time to play (YAY!).
So here I am, hoping to use this platform to find my next job-sharing adventure.