Applications for job sharing that resemble online dating

 Applications for job sharing that resemble online dating

Details of two possible companions are supplied with me right away once I fill out a matching website with basic information about myself and what I'm searching for.

Alejandro is first, looking quite dapper in his suit and grinning broadly. He enjoys exercising and has an amazing master's degree.

Susan is the other; she has a less impressive academic background, but her profile is more pertinent. Perhaps more significantly, she states that she is very understanding of errors made by others.

At least it seems like Suzanne would be a better match for me on paper. whether I can see us together, I'm interested to see whether there's any chemistry between us.

You may believe I'm experimenting with a new dating app, but what I'm really doing is utilizing a website that connects individuals who are looking to share work.

The concept of Switzerland-based WeJobShare is to match you with a total stranger to share a job, so increasing the pool of possible applicants considerably, rather than seeking a friend or colleague.

US startup Similar to this, Job Share Connect makes its "strong talent pool" available to those who are unable to locate a job sharing partner.

In the meanwhile, Ford's division in the UK and mainland Europe now offers a "matchmaking tool" specifically designed for workers who want to work beside a coworker.

The Ford platform was unveiled in September of 2022. Prospective workers provide information about themselves, including their experience to date, ideal partner, desired next role, and general professional objectives.

After an algorithm evaluates this data, a match is produced and shown to the user along with a percentage match score.

After taking a second round of maternity leave, Emma Wright returned to Ford this year with the assistance of the program in finding a work sharing partner.

After her first maternity leave, Ms. Wright—who works in the company's UK finance department—went to part-time employment. But since it was a part-time job, she discovered that the task was not as demanding or fast-paced as she had hoped.

So, hoping for a more fascinating career, she went job hunting again this time.

"I've seen people who work in finance who are really successful and respected, and I wanted to be a part of that," she explains.

According to co-founder Irenka Crone, the goal of WeJobShare is to facilitate connections among women. This is because, compared to men, they are more likely to work part-time owing to things like child care.

To begin using it, users must first create a profile with information about their location, preferred role type, desired number of hours per week, and if they are seeking for related or complimentary positions. seeking a skilled individual.

A brief survey follows, including questions like "How do you react to stress?", "How innovative are you?", "How risk-averse are you?", and "How tolerant would you be of a partner's mistakes?" Pose inquiries like as.,

Potential matches are generated by the company's algorithms based on such data. Only in Switzerland is the website presently accessible, but it has already assisted 2,500 individuals in finding a work sharing partner.

According to Ms. Crone, "companies are starting to realize that you have to have new employment models if you want to keep the best women in your business."

"They're trying to keep women who are at a particular period in their life and want to leave the sector, so they're attempting to retain them by proposing they think about work sharing." Are."

The gender equality advocacy group Empower said this year that work sharing was "an important solution to many of the issues women most face in the job market is," such as child care duties that impede professional progress. This statement coincides with the tiny but rising trend of job sharing applications.

This is due to the fact that work sharing entails half of a full-time employment as opposed to a part-time one, which usually entails less responsibility, income, and opportunity for advancement.

The founder and CEO of Shape Talent, a corporate gender equality consultant located in London, Sharon Peak, expressed optimism over the possibility of any solutions that may increase the popularity of work sharing.

But he's also worried that software methods for work sharing might introduce prejudices. Because historical applicants—who are more likely to be men—will be given preference by the algorithms for key [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] positions, strong [female] candidates run the danger of being excluded.

Additionally, Ms. Peake does not believe that technology can replace the essential soft skills, such as communication and cooperation, or the chemistry that exists between two individuals.

Jess Baker, a UK-based business psychologist and author, advises anybody thinking about working with a stranger to ascertain whether their personalities mesh well. It is highly recommended that all of you complete a personality profile test in order to raise your knowledge of psychological traits including decision-making, stress management, and interpersonal relationships. How do they connect to each other?"

A series called The next Tech Economy looks at how technology advancement will likely influence the next, developing economic environment.

Can an employer, however, turn off job-sharing applicants in order to save twice as much labor in payroll and HR? According to UK employment attorneys Davidson Morris, proposals for work sharing from current employees "should be considered effectively and should only be refused if there is a good practical reason for doing so".

According to Stuart Duff, a fellow business psychologist, most of the time businesses may gain by assigning workers to job-sharing positions. "Job sharing may present a number of difficulties at first, but in practice, the benefits often exceed the extra red tape.

Due to the fact that many employers make their decisions on who is best suited for a certain position on nothing more than prejudices or "gut feeling," it is important to have two distinct employees with distinct backgrounds and working styles. Being has the power to expand conceptions of what is conceivable and to subvert set expectations.