„Ich arbeite ganz anders und besser als früher“: Praxis und Potentiale von Jobsharing in Unternehmen

The term job sharing refers to work arrangements in which two people working part-time share a workplace in tandem. The focus of this study is on job sharing positions with leadership responsibility or demanding expert tasks. The following questions are examined: (1) How do companies shape the general conditions and rules of job sharing? (2) How do job sharers perceive the work in a tandem and its effects on work organization, career opportunities and work-life balance? (3) What types of job sharing tandems exist and how do they differ in terms of work organisation? The study was conducted in 2019 in ten companies which offer job sharing. It combines three types of data collection and analysis: interviews with HR representatives, a standardized online survey of job sharers and semi-structured in-depth interviews with job sharers. The study shows that job sharers assess their work situation very positively overall. Aspects which are seen more critically are the career effects, i.e. the influence of job sharing on their chances of career advancement, as well as time pressure and work stress. In addition, the study shows that there are four types of job-sharing tandems that differ in terms of how they come about and how the work situation is perceived: “symbiotic career tandems”, "involuntary tandems", “sparring partners in senior management” and “strategic alliances in senior management”.