INTHEBLACK June 2022 - Magazine - Page 39
SHARE
THE
LOAD
J OB-SHARING CAN BE A BENEFICIAL FORM OF
FLEXIBLE WORKING FOR BOTH EMPLOYEES AND
EMPLOYERS, BUT WITHOUT THE RIGHT PROCESSES
IN PLACE IT CAN EASILY GO WRONG.
STORY JOHANNA LEGGATT
AT A
GLANCE
Successful job-share
arrangements in the postlockdown environment
mean managers need to
be less hands-on.
Such arrangements build
strong “work buddy”
relationships, where
individuals are
accountable to each
other and less stressed.
The modern form of jobsharing has potential to
enable more women to
enter the C-Suite.
J
ob-sharing used to be a straightforward arrangement – a solid
line between one person clocking off and the second one starting;
a simple equation of two halves making one full-time whole. This
is no longer the case.
Jo Alilovic, author and director of employment law firm 3D HR
Legal, says job-sharing is unlikely to look the same in 2022 as it did
pre-pandemic.
“I think what we will see in the future is more part-timers who have
certain job-share features to their work lives, rather than directly sharing
the one role,” she says.
Instead of two people baton-passing the work of one client, for
example, it may be that each employee works on different aspects of the
client’s business, and that the shared work comes in the form of dual
client management.
Whatever the arrangement, the emphasis should be on creating
flexibility for employees, while ensuring clients’ needs are met.
“You may not be collaborating on a piece of work together, but
perhaps the arrangement is that you have someone to cover for you
when you’re not there,” Alilovic says.
“You are both working together to make sure that you are getting the
flexibility that you each want in your life, but also still continuing to do
a great job for the company.”
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au June 2022 39