Civil Service

What are the benefits of job sharing?

Explore the many benefits of job sharing for individuals, teams and for the Civil Service as a whole.

Benefits for you

an improved work/life balance, helping you to manage caring responsibilities, health and wellbeing needs, and activities outside of work
a way to progress your career aspirations without needing to work full time
A way to stay in a role you love, even if your circumstances outside of work change
access to a wide range of roles, not just those that are part-time
Many opportunities to develop complementary knowledge and skills with a job share partner
the benefit of a partner to share ideas with and work creatively.

Two women looking at a computer screen, both are sitting down, one is pregnant

Benefits for your team

Increased colleague engagement
enhanced team creativity
maintained business continuity
Increased talented staff retention
a greater place to work for all.

A man and a woman are sitting at a desk, looking at a laptop, the man is a wheelchair user

Job sharing: helping to promote equality for women

Job sharing can be an excellent choice for parents. It can help women especially stay in their desired role or field, whilst managing challenging factors such as caring responsibilities and menopause. The Civil Service, in its goal to becoming the most inclusive UK employer, recognises these challenges to gender equality in the workplace.

Job sharers Ian Shepherd and Jenny Ashby

We can talk through tricky decisions, get confidence from one another and make use of both of our skills.

Ian Shepherd and Jenny AshbyDepartment for International Trade Job share partners

Ian Shepherd explains why he chose to job share

I job share because it makes me happier and better at my job. I think it is really key that flexible working is there for people who have caring responsibilities, but I also think it’s important that it’s something everyone can benefit from. I use my extra time to learn new things (I’m doing a Psychology course at the moment), do some voluntary work (some tutoring / mentoring for a charity), look after my nieces and nephews, do some new hobbies, and some of the time I just relax and watch television!

I feel I have a happier balance in my week. I know it isn’t something everyone will be able to do, but there aren’t many men who job share right now, and I think lots more people could think about it as an option.