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Could we see a rise in job-sharing for lawyers?
Job-sharing is gaining prominence across the market, and – against the backdrop of voluminous workplace change post-pandemic – the notion of movement towards greater appreciation and accommodation for such part-time lawyering is not as far-fetched as it may have been even just a few years ago.
Jerome Doraisamy
In a recent episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, Tala Prowd and Helena Kolenbet – the co-GCs of Wesley Mission Queensland – discussed how their job-sharing arrangement came to be, why such an arrangement makes so much sense for them both (personally and professionally), the operational practicalities of job-sharing, and how they successfully navigate the needs of their organisation with key stakeholders.
As Prowd told Lawyers Weekly earlier in the year: “This job-sharing arrangement allows us to make our own professional dreams come true and truly exemplifies the future of flexible work in high-responsibility roles”.
The concept of job-sharing has been thrust into the spotlight most prominently by Bronwen Bock and Lucy Bradlow, who are campaigning to become Australia’s first-ever job-sharing parliamentarians, via their candidacy for a Senate seat in Victoria.
When asked whether the Australian market can or will see a trend towards job-sharing in the legal profession and/or outside of it, Prowd responded that “80 per cent of part-time workers are women, so there’s a great resource there that we’re tapping into through the job-share arrangement”.
Kolenbet said: “There is a very fine line with people working part-time in a team, and then a job-share arrangement. There are people out there who are working in a part-time capacity, who have real alignment with their colleagues and who support one another and have a very collegiate relationship, and that is a just a small step from going from two colleagues working a part-time capacity to a job-share role.”
“I think it’s just about having a bit more bravery to take that step forward, not just for those working part-time, but for organisations to be able to embrace that next step.”
Job-sharing can happen at the executive level, Kolenbet continued, and thus, there’s “absolutely no reason” why it can’t be done at legal counsel or general counsel levels in law departments or in any other professional services setting, for that matter.
“If organisations are willing to embrace job-share at the highest levels of their organisation, then why can’t any level of an organisation have the same opportunities and be able to deliver in that same way?” Kolenbet said.
“I think that there are so many benefits in having two people with a diverse set of skills to be able to fill one role as an organisation.”
“For Tala and I, you basically get a super lawyer: you have 30 years’ experience across the board with two of us, and we don’t get Friday fatigue, right?”
“So, we are driven, we are on and we are. Tala mentioned that statistic that you’re 30 per cent more productive as a job-share because you’re in there, you’re willing to be, you’re driven to be able to deliver as much as you can in the time that you’re there.”
Prowd said in support: “The legal team is also sometimes seen as a cost centre. We’ve actually reduced the external legal spend because we’re covering so many more areas of law as a result of combining us both. So, there’s a real practical benefit there as well.”
The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Tala Prowd and Helena Kolenbet, click below:
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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