On 21st January 2026 the Job Share South West (JSSW) inaugural event brought together leaders, managers and researchers to explore the potential of job sharing. Organised by Clare Freshwater-Turner and Annabelle Richards from Lloyds Banking Group and Sarah Houghton and Louise Cuthberston from BT Group, the event, held at the Lloyds Banking Group Harbourside Office, offered a combination of academic insight, real-world experience and practical discussions culminating in a networking breakout session that fostered connections and community building.
Opening with a warm welcome from Annabelle Richards and Clare Freshwater-Turner who introduced the keynote speaker Professor Susan Durbin from the College of Business and Law, University of the West of England (UWE). Drawing upon her specialisms in gender, employment and women’s careers in male-dominated industries Professor Durbin presented her findings on part-time work, flexible working and job share partnerships (JSPs).
This research conducted by Professor Durbin and Stella Warren (UWE) and Professor Jennifer Tomlinson, Leeds Business School, focused upon senior level men and women who job share (although male participation in job sharing remains low). It demonstrated that the outcomes of JSPs are similar for men and women. It also highlighted the significant benefits for those who engage in JSPs including improved work-life balance with alternating work patterns enabling flexibility without sacrificing productivity; high levels of job satisfaction compared with part-time working and a strong sense of achievement amongst participants in the study. Importantly career progression was found not to be negatively impacted by JSPs. Key to the success of JSPs was trust, partnership, collaboration and friendship between job sharers.
Notable challenges to JSPs were that employers appear reluctant to embrace this way of working due to JSPs often operating on slightly over full-time contract hours. However Professor Durbin argued that rather than seeing this as a cost employers should recognise the ‘value for money’ when two highly skilled and experienced senior managers come together to work in a JSP. She also argued for the significant benefits when those in JSPs are able to maintain a work-life balance and thus give their ‘whole selves’ when they are at work. Professor Durbin also reflected upon the need to conduct a larger study to include more men in order to identify any potential gender differences in the experiences and perceptions of JSPs and to consider the potential pitfalls of JSPs from both the employer and employee perspectives.
The presentation by Professor Durbin concluded with a thoughtful Q&A session where the audience explored the practical realities of job sharing in more depth. Questions focused on how job share partners navigate change together particularly during periods of job share partner promotions and how alignment and communication can be maintained as a pair. Attendees also asked about the benefits and challenges of job sharing from an employer’s perspective including productivity, continuity and management perceptions. Another area of interest was whether generational differences between job sharers create challenges with discussion around how differing experiences, working styles and expectations can be addressed through trust, openness and clear ways of working.
The subsequent panel discussion hosted by Louise and Sarah featuring leaders with direct experience of JSPs and managing JSPs included Justin Jennings, Head of Finance at Lloyds Banking Group; Racheal Nash a job-sharing Business Support Manager at Lloyds Banking Group; Zak Mensah Co-Chief Executive of Birmingham Museum Trust; and Katherine Carr, Director of Strategy and Corporate Affairs at the National Armaments Director Group (Job Share) and Ministry of Defence (Job share).
The discussion explored how JSPs work in senior roles and highlighted recurring themes of the importance of trust, establishing a shared way of working and complementary skills in the JSP. The hardest part was believed to be at the start of a JSP, one panel member expressing ‘Once you can say, “We’ve done it, it worked, we proved it, you can overcome many barriers.”’ The panel also spoke of the initial scepticism towards JSPs from colleagues or members of the board and that this is ‘normal’. One panellist recalled how the board had initially questioned the JSP she was in regarding who from the JSP would attend board meetings but after two or three sessions the attendance by one or other of the JSP was fully accepted.
A key takeaway from the panel was that visibility of JSPs matters. Panellists encouraged those in JSPs to role-model the arrangement at all levels. As one panellist commented:
“Whatever level you’re at, if you’re in a job share, tell people, be visible, role model it.”
It was emphasised that educating colleagues about JSPs is essential to building organisational acceptance.
Work-life balance was another recurring theme for panellists who described how managing non-working days required adaptation but ultimately provided freedom and focus. One participant explained how job sharing had changed the ways she had previously worked on a part-time basis as she was always playing ‘catch up’ on her two non-workdays. She said ‘My time and energy were spent managing, not leading; job sharing changed that completely.’ Maintaining a consistent rhythm, clear handovers and shared communication channels were cited as key strategies for making JSPs seamless.
Another important insight was the power of complementary skills. Panellists explained that successful JSPs often thrive when partners bring different strengths: “One of us is more analytical, the other more creative. Together it’s stronger than either of us alone.” These dynamics allowed job sharers to cover each other’s blind spots, celebrate successes together and reduce managerial oversight.
The panel also challenged the common stereotype that job sharing is primarily for those with childcare responsibilities. Job sharing was framed instead as a leadership strategy enabling senior talent to thrive sustainably while bringing fresh perspectives to their organisations.
“People always assume a job share is because of childcare. There’s no reason why more people can’t do job shares at any stage of life.”
The event concluded with a ‘Chat & Connect’ breakout session led by Louise, Sarah, Clare and Annabelle where participants shared experiences, discussed tools and tips and explored ways to expand job share opportunities. The importance of community, mentoring and peer support was emphasised as central to making job sharing a sustainable mainstream approach: “Once people see it working, the questions stop,” noted one participant.
Key takeaways from the event included the importance of trust, role modelling, complementary skills, consistent rhythms and visibility. Work-life balance, career progression and job satisfaction were all achievable through job sharing while the challenges such as handovers, continuity and organisational culture could be mitigated through careful planning and communication.
The Job Share SW inaugural event highlighted the growing momentum behind job sharing as a sustainable and effective way of working. Through academic research, lived experience and open discussion the event reinforced that job sharing thrives when built on trust, visibility and strong collaboration and that it can support career progression, wellbeing and organisational resilience at all levels. The event received an average feedback score of 4.9 out of 5 reflecting the strong engagement and positive response from attendees. In particular participants highlighted the value of community and the opportunity to connect with others navigating similar experiences.
The Job Share SW inaugural event demonstrated that job sharing is far more than a flexible working arrangement. It is a powerful strategy for sustainable, inclusive and resilient leadership
By embracing collaboration, trust and complementary strengths senior roles can become accessible and effective for a wider range of people helping organisations thrive in an evolving workplace.
Looking ahead the collaboration between the Job Share Network South West and the University of the West of England marks an exciting next phase. We are delighted to announce that Professor Susan Durbin and Chathushka Kiriella (UWE) have been awarded Higher Education Innovation Funding to work with industry partners to develop this network. The aim is to reach further into the South West of England to enhance the knowledge exchange and impact activities currently centred in Bristol. This will involve setting up a regional workshop bringing together employers, academics, practitioners and policymakers to explore how to mainstream JSPs and identify key enablers and challenges (e.g. recruitment, workload balance, governance, dual site roles). It will also enable us to explore the feasibility of a regional job share register to expand access, improve sustainability and support long term impact.
