Job sharing - any tips or advice gratefully received

[Sarah9999]

Hi,

I wondered if any mums out there currently working or with past experience of a job share could offer any tips on how best to make it work, or any advice on what doesn't work and what to avoid please?

I am writing a proposal to suggest my current role could be job shared and I need to be able to demostrate how it could work in practise and in particular how communication between team members and other departments can still be seamless and with no negative impact on the rest of the company.

There is no precident set within my company which is a relatively small, very male heavy, but my manager (the md) has recognised and appreciates I don't want to return after my second mat leave on any more than 3 days per week.

Any advice very gratefully received.

Thanks in advance, Sarah

[acb2013]

Hi Sarah,

I work three days a week as a job share and have done so for the last three years (including my second maternity leave within that time). My employer is a large charity, so a different set up to what you describe, but very happy to arrange to have a chat with you about what's worked in my experience, if that's helpful. I will PM you my contact details.

[buggie]

http://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2014/jul/05/job-share-with-colleague

this was in The Guardian at the w/e & had lots of helpful info in it.

[Pugwash]

After I qualified, I did a job share for a couple of years I did 16 hours a week Mon - Weds. Weds Morning my job share partner who did 20 hours a week came in and we would do a hand over of cases that could not wait till my return the following week and also updated my boss.

[Sarah9999]

Thanks very much for your responses so far. Lots of food for thought.

[akc74]

Also very interested in hearing of successful job share stories - and if anyone is looking for someone to do a jobshare with (particularly with a marketing focus) I would also be interested to hear about it! There seems to be so little interesting part-time work out there. Nearly everyone I know who works part-time had negotiated it with an existing employer.

Good luck Sarah in making it work - great that your employer is open to it.

[canela]

Does it need to be a job-share, or could the company just employ 2 part-time workers? i.e., will you and the other worker be dealing with and sharing the same clients, cases or whatever - or different ones? could you just go down to part-time and let the company deal with whether or not it needs another worker?

just a thought.