The cold season is just around the corner. This makes the work that Sonja and Yvonne have been doing in Hamburg for many years in the “Mitternachtsbus” project – as a job-sharing tandem – all the more important. We had the opportunity to talk to them before they go their separate ways soon. Among other things, they told They also have a few valuable tips for people interested in job sharing based on their many years of working together. But read on for yourself...!
First of all, thank you for taking the time to talk to us. Please introduce yourselves briefly.
Yvonne: I'm Yvonne Neumann, 45 years old, and I've been working as a project manager on the
"Mitternachtsbus"
Sonja: I'm Yvonne's colleague Sonja Norgall. I'm 49 years old and have been doing this for 13 years.
Can you give us an insight into the "Mitternachtsbus” project to get us started? What is the idea behind the project and how does it work as a whole?
Yvonne: The Mitternachtsbus is a project to help the homeless in Hamburg, founded in 1996 by the then regional pastor. The idea was that no one should freeze to death on the streets of Hamburg, especially in winter. It was started as a kind of winter protection program for homeless and homeless people. The way it works is that volunteers drive through downtown Hamburg at night with food, blankets, but also offers of conversation and help, to people who spend the night on the streets. We currently have around 140 volunteers in the project, who regularly travel in teams of four in a bus through the city center of Hamburg. On the one hand, this is about providing emergency supplies at night, but it is also about maintaining contact with people and offering them further assistance.
Sonja: The whole thing is also 100% donation-financed, which means that the only two full-time positions of Yvonne and me are also financed by donations.
So you are the full-time project management team – and in a job-sharing model. How did this collaboration come about?
Sonja: Originally, this was a part-time volunteer position, but over the years it has been expanded more and more. The first time Yvonne was pregnant, I covered her full-time position. And then it simply turned out that there was more work and demand than one person could handle. When Yvonne came back, our volunteers collected signatures for us so that we could continue together – and then the position was increased to 1.5 posts, with me filling one and Yvonne half of it. However, it is still the case that it is actually one position, i.e. the project management. And the challenge is to manage it with two people. Because you are perceived and addressed as one person from the outside and you therefore have to communicate a lot so that you have the same attitude, the same opinion, the same knowledge and can act as one person externally. We actually also essentially only have one office and one desk, one phone, one work cell phone... but you get used to that over the years.
Your tandem model is optimally aligned to your life situations, making you a great match. Can you tell us a little more about that?
Sonja: We manage to work around the issue of working hours well because Yvonne has two children and therefore starts early and then leaves in the afternoon. I, on the other hand, have no children, so I usually start at midday and can therefore sometimes take a trip later in the evening or work a weekend shift. It works out pretty well.
At the beginning, however, it was challenging to get the volunteers to remember our names. At first glance, we look a bit similar, and Yvonne and Sonja are sometimes located at the same synapse in the heads of the volunteers – we are often confused. It took some effort to get across that we are two different people with different backgrounds and interests...
Yvonne: On the other hand, it's actually a good sign, because it shows that we are so much alike in many ways that we don't have the feeling that we have to address one person or the other.
But of course the volunteers also have their interests in the project and see how they can best enforce them. It can happen that you get a bit into this “daddy-mommy thing”, where one person allows something that the other person, so to speak, forbids. So you really have to make sure that you speak with one voice. And then, of course, it can be a challenge if you have to represent a coordinated opinion that you don't fully support.
What exactly does that mean?
Yvonne: So for most topics, we agree in advance – or discuss things afterwards if in doubt.
Sonja: Exactly. So there is a framework for us on how things have to be done, what our idea is, our limits, our possibilities – and that is actually set. Within this framework, we then interpret the requests and ideas that come from the volunteers and see what we can make possible.
Then, of course, we weigh up which tasks we both take on and when we consciously position ourselves in terms of strengths. For example, Yvonne is our expert on technology, but I am happy to do interview requests. We try to avoid duplication.
Yvonne: Some things also arise simply because of the working hours. Because I am usually in the office during the telephone hours, I naturally take the calls here and also do a lot of administrative work that has to be done in the office. Working groups, on the other hand, often take place in the afternoons, so Sonja We both have to show up there so that we both stay in contact with the people.
If certain topics are more the responsibility of one person, how do you organize the transfer of information?
Sonja: We have a phone book in which all conversations are noted. We have marked our e-mails with colors, depending on whether it is a common topic or a topic that concerns only one of us. In addition, we usually have an overlap at lunchtime, so that I come at 12 and Yvonne leaves at 2 p.m. This gives us two hours to work on topics in parallel and to chat and exchange ideas.
Yvonne: And for fundamental matters, we also sit down together at regular intervals and in peace and quiet, for example to build the team. The same applies to a review and outlook at the beginning of the year: what went well last year and what perhaps not.
Sonja: I find it very relieving that we do it as a team of two, because sometimes it's really not easy to come up with a clear opinion or a solution. So it's really good that we can look at it from two sides.
Yvonne: Especially when it comes to assessing people and team dynamics and the like. Just because I don't get along so well with a person or don't like something, it doesn't mean that they don't do good work in the team and in the project. And it's always important to distinguish and look at the bigger picture: what is the actual problem? It's really good to be able to discuss it.
A little look into the crystal ball: Would you say that the “Mitternachtsbus” project would be different if it were managed full-time by just one of you?
Sonja: It would be more stressful if it were managed by just one person. Because you can't be relaxed on vacation and you definitely always have overtime. If you want to maintain a relationship with the people, so 140 volunteers in the team plus people from outside plus donors plus colleagues... In my view, that's not feasible with one position. That's why I think the project is definitely more relaxed if we have at least one and a half positions, or even two.
Soon, after many years of working together, your job-sharing tandem will come to an end. Is there something very special that you each take away from the time?
Sonja: Above all, I'm grateful that we complemented each other well in terms of working hours and personalities. I've learned a lot from Yvonne over the past few years. I was very much a perfectionist at the beginning and I'm now gradually getting rid of that. All in all, it went well and that's why I think it's a shame that Yvonne is leaving. We'll see how it develops – because the position will continue to be filled by job sharing in the future.
Yvonne: An important insight for me: a job-sharing situation definitely has a different work requirement. The exchange with each other and the close cooperation... It's different than when you simply “just” work with colleagues in a team. That's why I'm excited to see how it will be in my new job, because I won't have a tandem partner there anymore. And that's what I really appreciate about Sonja, that there is someone to exchange ideas with. We've grown together very well in recent years – and that will now be lost. It certainly brings a certain freedom due to less coordination, but it also has the disadvantage that you really have to decide alone and have no one to exchange ideas with who is so deeply involved in the topic. In this respect, I look back on the time with Sonja with joy – but I am also looking forward to the new work that awaits me.
One final question: Do you have an ultimate tip for anyone considering job sharing as a career?
Sonja: That you simply can't decide and organize everything on your own, but that you really do it as a couple. And it really depends on whether you're on the same wavelength. It's also important that you appreciate what the other person brings to the table. And that you also have the spatial possibilities, so you kind of need the technology and the office and so on to be able to implement the model well.
Yvonne: Exactly. I would also say that a certain amount of work on the collaboration is necessary. You just can't underestimate that. So, for example, also from the employer's point of view. Because it's not as if I just put two people in an office and it works, but it really does require support. For example, we have always had supervision in recent years. That was very helpful for us, being able to clarify problems or issues in a relatively neutral setting, so that we could continue to work well afterwards. A job share like this is not a foregone conclusion, but it really does add value for everyone involved.
Thank you very much for your time and all the best for your future!
Comments