Jobsharing: The most important facts at a glance

Jobsharing is becoming increasingly popular in the working world. Not only employees who want flexibility, but also more and more employers are recognizing the potential of this working time model. What exactly is job sharing, what forms does it take, what are its advantages and disadvantages, and what are the prerequisites? The following article provides answers to these questions and gives a deeper insight into the topic.

Definition: What is Job Sharing?

The English term jobsharing can be translated into German as job sharing. It is a flexible working time model in which more than one person holds a full-time position.

The difference to classic part-time work is that it is not up to the employer, but up to the employees to determine individual tasks and responsibilities among themselves. The same applies to working hours, which partners can divide up according to their individual needs. The full-time salary is also subject to this division.

Job Sharing flexible work from a Legal Perspective

The legal basis for the model is Section 13 of the German Part-Time Employment Act (TzBfG). According to this law, job sharing is a special form of part-time work.

• There is no legal relationship between the partners
• The entitlement to payment of the salary exists solely vis-à-vis the employer
• A joint work plan has a legally binding effect
• There is a duty of substitution only if it is stipulated in the employment contract
• It is also worth mentioning that the termination of remaining partners is not automatic

Known Job-Sharing Examples

Job sharing can take various forms in everyday business life. The most important of these are:

Job Splitting

Here, a full-time position is split into two or more parts and assigned to at least two employees. They work completely independently of each other, performing similar tasks at different working times. In job splitting, employees are responsible for their own work progress and performance.

Job Pairing

In contrast to job splitting, employees in this form of job pairing work together on assigned tasks and projects. Their close cooperation forms the foundation for success. Employees also share responsibility. Job pairing is not suitable for loners and those who do not work well in a team.

Top Sharing

It takes place at the upper management level and is characterized by two or more people sharing a management position. They share responsibility for team success. This form of job sharing requires a lot of effort to ensure smooth collaboration and fast workflow.

Other job-sharing flexible work models include peer tandems, temporary tandems and cross-functional tandems.

Job Sharing Advantages and Disadvantages

Ideally, both employees and the employer benefit from job sharing.

Advantages of job sharing

For employees, it offers a high degree of flexibility, which is of fundamental importance in some life situations. The most common reasons given for job sharing are: Reconciling career and family, the possibility of continuing education without sacrificing career, and the desire for more free time to prevent burnout and long-term work absenteeism.

Many employers, on the other hand, emphasize that job sharing can increase work productivity and employee satisfaction. Furthermore, it helps to develop a culture of innovation within the company and strengthen the employer brand. Employees sharing a full-time position can not only learn from each other, but also avoid mistakes through the dual control principle. Jobsharing also allows successors to be trained more quickly

Disadvantages

Despite all the advantages, there are also some disadvantages associated with job sharing. The disadvantages are:

• Higher effort in terms of administration, organization and coordination on the part of HR
• Higher salary costs and additional compensation for a full-time position
• Increased potential for conflict and competition between employees who share a job
• The challenge of finding suitable tandem partners

Is Jobsharing for Everyone?

Job rotation is not an easy task. Not every person is willing and able to change jobs or share with other colleagues. Therefore, it is important that employees who want to participate in job sharing meet certain requirements. These are, above all, communication skills, trust in the partner, flexibility and a high willingness to cooperate and compromise, without which job sharing is difficult to realize.

The success of jobsharing does not depend solely on employees and their social skills. Management and HR also play an important role in this context. Their task is to design the internal job-sharing model in such a way that there is no work chaos and stress in the tandem partnerships. A clear definition of task areas and responsibilities as well as continuous support are a must.