Case Study Analysis Of Job Sharing At Motorola

1.How does Motorola’s job sharing system fit with their business needs?

2.What particular needs do female employees face in work-life balance arrangements such as job sharing?

3.What are the advantages and disadvantages of job sharing to job sharers and their managers?

4.What cultural factors come into play in introducing job sharing into other organisations in an Australian context?

 

1. Motorola in order to remain competitive implement various work life balance practices which includes a job sharing system. A job sharing system requires the employees to work in a 12 hours shift for seven hours for seven days divided into four and three days a week. The full hour shift is divided into two employees equally. As mentioned in a case study Motorola plant operates 24 hours and 7 days a week, which means the work pressure is very high. Job sharing reduces the work burden on employees and helps them to remain productive throughout their work shift. This also enables the two individuals to work together and achieve the organizational goals effectively. It also creates loyal workers and helps the organization to retain talented and hardworking people who want more flexibility in their work hours due to personal commitment (Michael Page, 2016). The operators feel valued and satisfied at the workplace which directly increase their productivity and reduced the absenteeism rate. It also prevents external recruitment and the cost associated with hiring and training new individual. Job sharing have enabled Motorola to operate 24 hours and 7 days with each employee committed to work efficiently to give them a competitive edge in the industry (Weinreb, 2011).

2. Job sharing for female employees is an appreciated arrangement in which they can effectively manage the work life balance but still there are certain issues female faces in work life arrangement. Female attrition rate is very high in organization due to the lack of flexibility in their workplace roles and responsibilities. When the work hours are reduced there are chances that the base pay will also get reduced accordingly. This directly affects their career development. In order to successfully carry out job sharing arrangement the availability of a job sharer is also very important. The job sharer should have same set of skills and abilities to complement the role of other employee. If it is not possible then the work performance gets affected. Women who perform night duty as a part of their job sharing may confront security issues and sexual harassment issues. The chances of performance appraisals also get reduced as the performance is measured as a team and not individually (Richardson, 2009). Job share can mostly work in supportive roles; women who are into the role of senior level have to resume a full time responsibility or either compromise on their career (ACAS, 2011).

3. Advantages to the managers and job sharers:

• Job sharing enables the manager to retain skilled and talented employees, who otherwise have not been able to work due to their personal commitments. It also reduces the cost of hiring new individual.
• Burnouts referred to as stress among employees due to high workload at workplace. In the competitive environment employees are asked to be more productive which increase exhaustion and stress level. Job sharing reduces the burnout among employees and helps them to be more productive.
• It also improves the performance and leads to division of work among two individuals having relevant skills and experience at a cost effective manner.
• It gives Job flexibility to employees (Daniels, 2011).

Disadvantages to Job sharers and managers:

• Not much employee’s wants to engage in this job sharing arrangements because it reduces the basic pay and hamper the career growth of individuals.
• It is very difficult for the manager to find the other individual who have the same set of skills and capabilities as another person.
• If the other individual involved in job sharing is not qualified or hardworking, it will directly impact the output of the organization and affect the growth of an individual (Crampton, et al., 2003).

4. The successful implementation of job sharing arrangements depends a lot on Cultural factors of the country. While introducing Job sharing practices in Australia there are several factors that are to be kept in mind:

• The female employees make 45 percent of the total workforce which means job sharing arrangement should accommodate more female workers and give them work flexibility (AIM, 2012).
• The number of male workers has also increased in the part time as they want to spend some time with their children and participate in other household responsibilities. Job sharing arrangement should involve women’s in the day shift and men in the night shift.
• It has also been found the Generation Y people are more inclined towards work flexibility because they value their personal interest and passion more. They are also engage in pursuing other opportunities.
• Individuals who are reaching the retirement age but still want to continue their work but with more work flexibility. Job sharing is a good option for them and the organization because these people are experienced and qualified and must be retained (Anderson, 2016).

 By taken into account these factors Job sharing can be introduced in Australian organization.

References

Acas. (2011). Help & advice for employers and employees. Retrieved from https://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3568 on 4 May 2017.

AIM. (2012). MANAGING IN A FLEXIBLE WORK ENVIRONMENT. Retrieved from https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/AIM-Managing-in-a-Flexible-Work-Environment.pdf on 4 May 2017.

Anderson, C. (2016). Why Flexible Work Is The Way Of The Future, And How Small Business Can Help. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/04/01/flexible-work-jobs_n_9579456.html on 4 May 2017.

Crampton, S., Douglas, C., Hodge, J. & Mishra, J. (2003). Job Sharing: Challenges and Opportunities. Retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/10683863.pdf on 4 May 2017.

Daniels, L. (2011). JOB SHARING AT SENIOR LEVEL: MAKING IT WORK. Retrieved from https://www.thejobshareproject.com/3434hjkv97fgb378fbv/jobsharefullreport.pdf on 4 May 2017.

Michael Page. (2016). The benefits of job sharing. Retrieved from https://www.michaelpage.co.uk/advice/career-advice/making-your-next-career-move/benefits-job-sharing on 4 May 2017.

Richardson, M. (2009). Making job share work: Australian women share their success secrets. Retrieved from https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&edata-src=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj6uMLu1tXTAhWBQI8KHXeTBKEQFggtMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.moirgroup.com.au%2F_literature_56452%2FMaking_job_share_work&usg=AFQjCNF7_NxEjodbJDqGfCm1aaumODrYhA on 4 May 2017.

Weinreb, E. (2011). How Job Sharing May Be The Secret To Work-Life Balance. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2011/10/24/how-job-sharing-may-be-the-secret-to-work-life-balance/#83dc967129c1 on 4 May 2017.