Job sharing can provide a competitive advantage.
Pro-active changes to labour laws in the UAE open up a wealth of possibilities for the restructuring of work. Specifically, the provision for part-time work may have far-reaching consequences for the workplace.
The employment landscape in the UAE is dominated by the traditional salaried full-time employment arrangement. Until recently, part-time work was not legally allowed and those engaged in temporary employment operated in a legal grey area. However, the advent of legal part-time work creates an exciting opportunity for job sharing within companies that are willing to explore the possibilities of more creative and flexible work arrangements.
Part-time work is typically associated with low-skilled and low-paid opportunities in the service or manufacturing industries, but this need not be the case. A well-structured job-share allows highly skilled and qualified workers in white-collar professions to work on a part-time basis, but provide full-time coverage to their employer.
The essence of job sharing is simple. Two suitably qualified and skilled professionals fill one position in the company. Typically, each "half" of the job-sharing team will work for a little over half the time. For example, both may work three days a week, made up of two independent days and one shared day. The shared day can be used to co-ordinate their work, plan together or attend joint meetings with clients.
Job sharing has been used effectively in diverse industries such as finance, real estate, education and information technology. It is a proven approach to work and one that is highly suited to the employment environment of the UAE. It can provide a suitable work structure for Emirati women who wish to balance a traditional role of mother and homemaker with a rewarding career. It can also open up a large pool of talent in the expatriate community by providing an employment structure for qualified and experienced spouses who may wish to work, but not on a full-time basis.
For the job holder, the benefits of job sharing usually come from the work-life balance it provides. Job sharing is a work structure that can suit anyone with pressing personal responsibilities, from parents to entrepreneurs. The advantages to employees are clear, but it is the advantages to employers that often need stressing.
Job sharing provides companies with another weapon in their arsenal for the war on talent. It can also lead to enhanced organisational performance. There is a maximum work effort that any single employee can bring to an organisation, but with job sharing, employees have the capacity to give more than their "share" during critically busy periods.
Job sharing is not two or more part-time positions; it is a full-time position that is shared. It offers continuous work coverage by two capable professionals. It can bring together professionals with complementary skills to offer a more complete coverage of the expertise needed to maximise performance in a position.
It is also a management tool that can directly attract highly qualified women back into the workforce and has the potential to support Emiratisation.
And it offers organisations, which have the management capabilities to adapt to a slightly unconventional work structure, the opportunity to harness a considerable competitive advantage.
James Ryan is an assistant professor in the College of Business Administration at the University of Sharjah. He specialises in human-resource management and organisational behaviour/psychology.