An overloaded schedule, finding it hard to spend time with your family… Juggling work and family life can sometimes be complicated and affect the morale and even the health of your employees, as is revealed by a study conducted by Quebec’s Institut national de santé publique.
Combining the two and achieving equilibrium is still possible, thanks to work sharing, a formula that involves reducing an employee’s working hours by letting him share his job with another person. Be careful, we’re talking here about shared skills serving the company, not to be confused with part-time work, which refers to reduced working time.
In Quebec, part-time employees are in high demand by companies, but few of them think of hiring a time shared employee. This option has been encouraged by the Quebec government for the last ten years, as part of the work-family reconciliation programs.
Whether an employee wants to reduce his working time to improve quality of life, prepare for retirement or take care of a sick relative, shared time lets you these needs be met, while benefiting the company.
What is work sharing?
The principle is simple. The employer divides the full-time position into two part-time positions and assigned one of them to another employee. This could be someone from within the company or recruited externally, depending on the needs and qualified resources available.
The tasks and projects are divided between the two employees. Good organization and good communication between colleagues are therefore necessary, since they have to be fully engaged for a shorter period of time.
Regarding compensation, employees obviously see their salary adjusted accordingly, but they retain their employment contract and their social benefits in most cases.
The result
Extensive research has shown that employers have a lot to gain by offering more flexibility, since it increases employee engagement, reduces stress, lateness or absenteeism, and contributes to staff retention. It is also a means for them to recruit new experienced employees.
For employees, it has been shown that in addition to a reduction in health problems linked to stress and anxiety, they are more satisfied with their work and show less of a desire to change jobs!