Professional Thermostat

Leading a venture backed startup, I often wished there was a dial I could adjust to tradeoff income for balance. I imagine something like a home thermostat - where an individual can customize personal and professional commitments for a set period of time.

Have a family member sick at home, or a major life transition such as a birth, death, marriage or divorce?  I imagine many (especially at the higher income levels) would welcome the opportunity to trade 20% of their time for 20% of their income for a 3, 6 or 9month period of time, much less a five year time.

Technology is enabling personalization in so many areas today - entertainment, education, transportation, financial services.  Remote work seems to me a first step on this path - today, you can work for a Vancouver based company from the Berkshires.

The best analogy I have seen to date are freelance legal and developer services, which enable more flexible professional arrangements.  However, these fall short of what many people want out of their work life - salary and benefits stability, long term relationships, the compounding benefits of working in the same industry, problem area, etc.

So, what are the blockers?  Continuity of work seems to be one. If you are ‘important’ to your investors, team, customers, then availability is expected in many professions today.  Logistics seems like another - managing benefits/payroll, stock options, etc to adjust for fairness for all in such arrangements would create significant transaction costs.

Both of these seem solvable to me.  As we consider the future of work, an organizational model providing intensity variability could have a significant competitive advantage in the labor market.

• Are there any places job sharing in the knowledge economy is happening today?
• What tools are needed to make this happen successfully?