The Joys of Job Sharing: Two Public Sector Workers Tell Their Story

The verdict came in some time ago: Public sector employees love the flexibility that remote work affords, and want to continue having flexible work options going forward.

Of course, that’s not to say that remote work doesn’t come with a downside. For example, many employees working remotely throughout the coronavirus pandemic reported at least occasionally experiencing feelings of isolation and loneliness.

For that matter, a recent report lamented what its author, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murtha, MD, MBA,  described as an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” that predates the pandemic.

“When I first took office as Surgeon General in 2014, I didn’t view loneliness as a public health concern. But that was before I embarked on a cross-country listening tour, when I heard stories from my fellow Americans that surprised me,” said Murtha. “People began to tell me they felt isolated, invisible and insignificant.”

These conversations were “a lightbulb moment for me: social disconnection was far more common than I had realized,” said Murtha, noting that research finds two-thirds of Americans saying they have experienced feelings of loneliness in recent years.

Jennifer Donnelly and Amy Rofman reference this report in a recent Government Executive commentary, where the two former State Department workers recount how their job-sharing experience helped them maintain a sense of connectedness to their co-workers while handling their duties as new parents upon their respective returns from maternity leave.

The Specifics of Job Sharing

Seeing Murtha’s report on the loneliness epidemic in the U.S. inspired Donnelly and Rofman to reflect on their decision to start job sharing in 2007, when both had young children. That decision “had a profound positive impact on our mental health, our long-term resilience to loneliness and overall well-being,” they wrote, recalling how their job-sharing arrangement came to be.

“One evening, after many hours at work, we were startled to bump into each other in the dingy basement mailroom of our apartment building in the Van Ness neighborhood of Washington, D.C.,” Donnelly and Rofman recollected.

“Two things became instantly clear: we were neighbors, and we were both pregnant. We commiserated about riding Metro during the third trimester and decided to start carpooling so we could afford parking in pricey Foggy Bottom. During those drives together down Massachusetts Avenue and Rock Creek Parkway, the seeds of a friendship started to grow.”

Bonding over the “overwhelming experience” that they and most new parents feel, Donnelly and Rofman also shared a sense of dread as the clock ticked down toward their return-to-work date, wondering how they would juggle the responsibilities of new parenthood with those of a full-time job.

They arrived at the decision to look into job sharing options, finding that it “was rare, but that the federal government endorsed it.” Indeed, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management recognizes job sharing as an option when employers must staff a position on a full-time basis, defining job sharing as “a form of part-time employment in which one position is filled with two or more part-time employees.”

Donnelly and Rofman pitched the idea to the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking, were one of them already worked.

“Management agreed,” they recalled. “What happened next and over the next seven years? We became a powerhouse team and formed an incredible bond that lasted well beyond the job share.”

Throughout those seven years, one job sharer would work solo on Mondays and Tuesdays while the other did the same on Thursdays and Fridays. Both worked four hours on Wednesdays, with two hours of overlap, “so we could compare notes, divide responsibilities and devise priorities.”

Nine years on, the pair acknowledge that their arrangement might not be feasible in some situations, and admit that job sharing “was not without sacrifice.” For example, the job share cut their respective salaries in half, and, though both had working spouses, “we also lived modest lifestyles in small apartments and limited budgets.”

Still, both agree that these compromises were ultimately well worth it. “We got to keep a foot firmly planted in our professional careers and develop an incredible partnership,” they wrote for Government Executive, describing the lasting connection they’ve maintained through numerous “profound, difficult life events” as the most cherished legacy of their job share.

“The surgeon general’s report addresses the loneliness phenomenon impacting so many people today,” wrote Donnelly and Rofman. “Employers who promote job-sharing as one of the possible options can help with their employees who may be feeling isolated. It can be a lifeline to those dealing with challenging situations in their personal lives.”