work-sharing
C1formal, business, technical
Definition
Meaning
A system or arrangement in which available work is distributed among employees, often to avoid layoffs by reducing individual working hours.
Any collaborative system where tasks or responsibilities are divided among individuals or teams; can also refer to flexible working arrangements like job-sharing.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Often used in industrial relations, labour economics, and human resources contexts. Implies a formal, organised distribution of work rather than informal cooperation.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
The concept and term are used similarly in both varieties, with no significant spelling or lexical difference. 'Job-sharing' is a more common near-synonym in everyday HR contexts.
Connotations
Neutral to slightly positive in contexts of preserving employment; can have negative connotations if imposed by management without consent.
Frequency
More frequent in American business and union discourse, but well-understood in UK contexts.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
N (between/among N)N of NVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “spread the work, save the jobs”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
The union negotiated a work-sharing scheme to prevent compulsory redundancies during the factory's downturn.
Academic
The study analysed the impact of state-sponsored work-sharing programmes on aggregate unemployment rates across the OECD.
Everyday
During the slow season, they're on a work-sharing plan, so everyone gets three-day weeks.
Technical
The German Kurzarbeit system is a prominent example of state-subsidised work-sharing.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The firm is looking to work-share to retain its skilled staff.
- They've been work-sharing for six months now.
American English
- The company decided to work-share rather than issue pink slips.
- We've been work-sharing since the contract loss.
adverb
British English
- The team operated work-share for the duration of the project.
American English
- They are now working work-share to weather the recession.
adjective
British English
- The work-sharing arrangement was detailed in the new collective agreement.
- They entered a work-sharing phase.
American English
- Employees on the work-sharing program receive partial unemployment benefits.
- The work-sharing model saved hundreds of jobs.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- They share the work in our shop.
- The two managers share the work of the department.
- To avoid layoffs, the company introduced a work-sharing scheme where everyone's hours were reduced.
- The government's subsidised work-sharing programme has been credited with mitigating the spike in unemployment during the economic crisis.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: WORK needs SHARING to go around, like sharing a pizza so everyone gets a slice.
Conceptual Metaphor
WORK IS A PIE (to be divided/sliced/shared).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid direct translation as 'работа-деление' which is nonsensical. Use 'распределение рабочей нагрузки' or 'система разделения работы'. Do not confuse with 'совместная работа' (teamwork).
Common Mistakes
- Using 'work-sharing' to mean simple collaboration on a project (too broad).
- Confusing 'work-sharing' with 'coworking' (shared office space).
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following is the PRIMARY goal of a typical 'work-sharing' arrangement?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
They are closely related. 'Job-sharing' usually refers to two part-time employees sharing one full-time position. 'Work-sharing' is broader, often referring to distributing available work hours among a larger group to prevent layoffs.
Yes, it can be a voluntary arrangement agreed upon by management and employees or their union. Some schemes are government-supported and have specific rules.
Yes, the standard dictionary form is hyphenated: 'work-sharing'. You may see it as one word ('worksharing') in some corporate materials, but the hyphenated form is preferred.
The direct opposite would be a policy of layoffs (redundancies) where the total amount of work is concentrated on a reduced number of full-time employees.