Mastering Job Sharing: How Laura McHale and Laura Cohen Balance Career and Family at M&G

Meet two of our colleagues, Laura McHale and Laura Cohen, who have mastered the art of job sharing here at M&G. Their story is a testament to the power of teamwork and flexibility, showing how they balance their professional responsibilities while enjoying more time with their families.

Laura McHale

“A year after coming back to work full time after maternity leave, I started to explore the possibility of my role becoming part time. I was aware of PAs at other organisations who worked part time and as part of a job share working pattern and thought that this model could work well for my role. I approached my then manager with a proposal for how the model could work and he, along with my wider team, were very supportive which I was extremely grateful for.

After final approval, we started the recruitment process, and I was lucky enough to find a great job share colleague in Laura; the choice of a candidate with the same name was certainly not planned but it has helped! Colleagues often don’t know which Laura they're speaking to and I take that as a compliment.

Laura had extensive experience in job sharing, having done it for several years, and she brought a wealth of best practice knowledge to our partnership. The main reason I think we work so well together is communication – we're constantly in touch and always make sure to leave comprehensive handovers which ensures nothing is missed. Lots of colour coding in our inbox also helps!
Becoming part time has been such a great experience. I didn’t want to stop working but I also wanted to spend more time with my daughter – becoming part time has allowed me to have the best of both worlds and I'm very grateful to work for an organisation that has supported me to do this.”

Laura Cohen

“I had previously worked alongside a job share in my previous role since returning from maternity leave, five years ago. Like Laura, I was keen to work but also wanted a balance to be able to spend time with my daughters. When applying for the job role it was initially advertised for two days. However, after progressing through the interview stages, the team agreed that me working three days was preferable as this allowed one day a week when Laura and I would work together. This day has been super important for us building our relationship and ensuring a smooth handover and transition for the team.

When I first joined the role there was a lot to learn but Laura has been great at teaching me the ropes.
The team have embraced the job share role which made the transition to a new role and company much easier. I love working with a job share – its great to be able to share different working styles and best practice and to be able to work on challenges together.”

2025 apprenticeships open now

Reframing later life

Laura McHale

Laura Cohen

2025 apprenticeships open now

Reframing later life

Laura McHale

Laura Cohen

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