*Part Time Employment; *Productivity; Unions

Taking the view that job sharing is a positive alternative for workers and employers, this article defines job \ sharing in broad term-, and describes its evolution from the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938-to the preseat. The advantages, such as increased.productivity, are felt to be impressive, but disadvantages also exist, including significant cost increases to employers and lack of support from management, unions, and theefederal government. However, federal and state interest is increasing, especially because of the high unemployment problem and current recession. California's Work Sharing Unemployment Insurance program, which-allow-s-paymeat_of partial benefits to work sharers, has resulted in more people working and less money being expended for unemployment compensation. Other experimental programs have been successfully implemented in the public and private sectors. As employers become the initiating force behind job shiring, it will become firmly established in both male and female occupations. Problems to be worked'out before that occurs include consideration of salary advancement and career promotion,.greater attention given to accurate job descriptions and performance evaluation, and identification of the kinds of jobs that can be shared. (Author/WD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document