Job Sharing Reading Answers with IELTS Passage

Job Sharing Reading Answers: The IELTS reading passage on Job Sharing Reading Answers explores a modern work arrangement where two people share the responsibilities of one full-time job. This concept, while not entirely new, has become increasingly relevant in today's work environment, especially among professionals seeking work-life balance.

This reading passage “Job Sharing Reading Answers” delves into the differences between job sharing and part-time or work-sharing arrangements, the demographics of those who engage in it, and how large companies have responded to this concept. It also discusses the types of jobs suitable for sharing and the interpersonal skills required to make this kind of collaboration successful.

Here, we will walk you through the Job Sharing IELTS reading explanation, sample questions, and a detailed answer key to help you solve similar passages during the IELTS.

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IELTS Reading Passage: Job Sharing

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-9, which are based on the Reading Passage below.

Job Sharing

Section A
Job sharing refers to a situation in which two people divide the responsibility of one full-time job. The two people willingly act as part-time workers, enough hours between them to fulfill the duties of a full-time worker. If they each work half the job, for example, they each receive 50 per cent of the job's wages, its holidays and its other benefits. Of course, some job sharers take a smaller or larger share of the responsibilities of the position, receiving a lesser or greater share of the benefits. Job sharing differs from conventional part-time work in that it is mainly (although not exclusively) occurring in the more highly skilled and professional areas, which entail higher levels of responsibility and employee commitment. Until recently, these characteristics were not generally seen as compatible with anything less than full-time employment. Thus, the demands of job sharing are reciprocated by better pay and conditions and, ideally, more satisfaction than conventional part-time work.

Section B
Job sharing should not be confused with the term work sharing, which pertains to increasing the number of jobs by reducing the number of hours of each existing job, thus offering more positions to the growing number of unemployed people. Job sharing, by contrast, is not designed to address unemployment problems; its focus, rather, is to provide well-paid work for skilled workers and professionals who want more free time for other pursuits.

Section C
As would be expected, women comprise the bulk of job sharers. A survey carried out in 1988 by Britain's Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) revealed that 78 percent of shares were female, the majority of whom were between the ages of 20 and 40 years of age. Subsequent studies have come up with similar results. Many of these women were re-entering the job market after having had children, but they chose not to seek part-time work because it would have meant reduced wages and lower status. Job sharing also offered an acceptable transition back into full-time work after a long absence.

Section D
Although job sharing is still seen as too radical by many companies, those that have chosen to experiment with it include large businesses with conservative reputations. One of Britain's major banks, the National Westminster Bank, for example, offers a limited number of shared positions intended to give long-serving employees a break from full-time work. British Telecom, meanwhile, maintains 25 shared posts because, according to its personnel department, 'some of the job sharers might otherwise have left the company and we are now able to retain them.' Two wide-ranging surveys carried out in the country in 1989 revealed the proportion of large and medium-sized private-sector businesses that allow job sharing to be between 16 and 25 per cent. Some 78 percent of job sharers, however, work in public-sector jobs.

Section E
The types of jobs that are shared vary, but include positions that involve responsibility for many subordinates. Research into shared senior management positions suggests that even such high-pressure work can be shared between two people with little adjustment, provided the personalities and temperaments of the sharers are not vastly different from one another. A 1991 study of employees working under supervisory positions shared by two people showed that those who prefer such a situation do so for several reasons. Most prevalent were those who felt there was less bias in the evaluation of their work because having two assessments provided for a greater degree of fairness.

Section F
The necessity of close cooperation and collaboration when sharing a job with another person makes the actual work quite different from conventional one-position, one-position jobs. However, to ensure a greater chance that the partnership will succeed, each person needs to know the strengths, weaknesses and preferences of his or her partner before applying for a position. Moreover, there must be an equitable allocation of both routine tasks and interesting ones. In sum, for a position to be job-shared well, the two individuals must be well-matched and must treat each other as equals.

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