one: Carina, Eva,have you been working in tandem since 2020? How did you find each other and why did you choose this model?

Carina Rogalski:I was working as an account director at an agency in Munich, but when our second child was due, my husband and I moved back to Cologne. After parental leave, I started as a team leader in a large agency. I actually worked part-time, finishing work at 3 pm. But the responsibility and the pressure were great, and I was regularly at playgrounds and on the phone to customers. When I realised that I was totally torn between my family and my job, I resigned in March 2020 during the pandemic. Then the job advert from REWE came round the corner, it was advertised as 15 hours and I thought, "Perfect, start slowly and see what works".

Eva Schwarz:I've been working in REWE marketing since 2015, at the time at REWE digital in Carlswerk, and went on parental leave in 2017 after the birth of my daughter. After a year, I came back - but took on the same tasks despite my working hours being reduced to 24 hours. That wasn't so satisfying for me, as I always had the feeling that I couldn't fulfil my tasks in the same way as before my parental leave. My team leader at the time then asked me if I could imagine job sharing. I thought it was a great idea and we advertised a suitable position. I was then closely involved in the recruitment process, attending all the interviews and was allowed to make the decision in favour of Carina.

one: What challenges did you have to overcome at the beginning?
Eva Schwarz: It was certainly a challenge to make colleagues understand that we are both equal contact persons and that, for example, not all appointments only have to take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays. But in the meantime, everyone has really accepted it and nobody has a problem with it - neither within the team nor externally. The topic of job sharing is always received with great enthusiasm and interest.

Carina Rogalski : The handover had to get used to at first. We then developed a system together that works really well. Of course, there are days when something slips through the cracks during the hectic handover. But that's the exception.

one: What are the advantages of working in a job-sharing tandem? For both of you, but also for your senior managers and your team?
Carina Rogalski : In the classic part-time model, you usually stop working before everyone else, while they continue working. With job sharing, the other person takes over and we don't actually drop the pen, but rather pass it on as a baton. That's a real advantage of the job-sharing model. And: I have a sparring partner with whom I can discuss whether I'm on the right track. If I don't know what to do, the other person might have an idea. We have double the power in the sense of 'everyone thinks along'. And we motivate each other. Because on the days when we're alone, we try to get as much done as possible so that the other person doesn't have it all on the table.

Eva Schwarz: The advantage for our colleagues is clear: they always have a contact person who can make a decision or help them further. And Christian, our senior manager, can rely on the fact that someone is always there to take care of things. He hardly notices that we are two people. He also likes to call us by each other's names from time to time..

one: How do you divide up the work?
Eva Schwarz: I work 60 per cent, Carina 70 per cent, the overlaps give us more flexibility and time for handovers and exchanges. Because even if you theoretically "share" everything, it makes sense to define clear responsibilities for one person for some topics.

one: What is important for your specific collaboration?
Eva Schwarz: Communication and the exchange of information are essential. It is also an advantage that we have a similar way of working; we both emphasise very structured work, good filing, handover and documentation of project statuses. This means that everyone can take over at any time. It's perfect when you tick the same boxes, when the chemistry and the basis of trust are right. Elbow thinking is out of place in job sharing. You should pull together and pursue the same goals.

one: And what do you do when things do get sticky?
Eva Schwarz: Trust is an important point. Because if you're constantly questioning why someone did what they did and how they did it, then it becomes exhausting. What we've learnt over the years is to talk about it early on if things start to grate between us.

one: What is your assessment after five years of job sharing?
Carina Rogalski:I would do it again at any time, because job sharing is a really good model for balancing work and family life. It may not suit every job equally well. But for project management, where you can hand over topics very seamlessly, it's a good system for being able to take on large projects and corresponding responsibility even with a reduced number of hours.

one: Finally, what have you learnt to appreciate about each other in these five years?
Carina Rogalski: Eva is organised and structured, a perfect project manager. And she takes great care of our figures and budgets, but also of the issues within the team - whether it's a reminder that it's someone's birthday or a room needs to be organised for the team day. She also knows everyone and always knows who to ask for what.

Eva Schwarz: Carina is super committed to her job and always motivates us both to drive the topics forward. She also always thinks very conceptually when it comes to Sustainability issues, so we complement each other really well. We usually just have to look at each other and know what the other is thinking. What's more, Carina always brings a lot of good humour to our team and often has a sweet snack in her bag. I know that we can always rely on each other and that we both really appreciate each other. That's a very good feeling.