A husband and wife team sharing one job position may be new to Singapore but it is a fairly well established practice in Switzerland's foreign ministry, which probably can claim credit as one of the most progressive organisations in the world when it comes to job sharing by couples.

Mrs Barbara Gonzenbach, 42, and Mr Nikolas Sturchler Gonzenbach, 43, are both deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Switzerland in Singapore, reporting to Ambassador Fabrice Filliez. They have two children, Julian, 10, and Leonie, eight, and the job sharing is a great boon to them.

On the one hand, they have professional satisfaction furthering the agenda of their government and on the other hand, they have plenty of family time. Their home is in the Swiss embassy compound and the children go to the Swiss School, which is almost next door to the embassy.

Says Mrs Gonzenbach: "Nikolas and I have an elaborate weekly schedule that allows both of us to work in the morning and in the afternoon, so that each of us can be in touch with headquarters due to time difference and spend time with the children at home. We both go to the office every day, so our staff do not have to wait for inputs and direction."

Adds Mr Gonzenbach: "Broadly speaking, our job is to look after the bilateral relations between Singapore and Switzerland and represent Swiss interests in this regard. This can range from political reporting or organising official visits to social media communications, bringing together scientific actors or lining up cultural events. Barbara and I jointly head our so-called political team that looks after such matters."

The couple have a rough division of work in place. While Mr Gonzenbach covers business relations, science, diplomacy and legal affairs, Mrs Gonzenbach focuses on finance, communications, security and culture. In other areas such as political reporting, they check on an ad hoc basis as to who has capacity and how they want to organise themselves.

Says Mr Gonzenbach: "Reportedly, Switzerland was a model for Singapore in terms of economic development. Nowadays, there is also a lot we can learn from Singapore. It is absolutely fascinating to learn how things are done here and why.

"My mother was born and raised in Jakarta. While Singapore is not Jakarta and times are very different, I nonetheless feel as if I am tapping a part of my mother's background."

The couple met during their diplomatic training in Switzerland when they were both recruited in 2007.

"It was like winning the jackpot. Not only did we get a compelling and fulfilling job but, at the same time, we met our lifetime partner. The icing on the cake was that the FDFA (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs) has a very progressive policy when it comes to couples in the diplomatic service. Our first shared posting abroad was at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations in New York from 2010 to 2014," recalls Mrs Gonzenbach. Their predecessors in New York were also a couple.

Adds Mr Gonzenbach: "The Swiss MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) is very forthcoming and progressive, so that is very helpful. It is also a fact that while Switzerland has around 170 representations abroad, many of them are small or mid-sized. There are only so many full-time jobs at an embassy.

"Since we rotate from post to post as a family, if you think about it, job-sharing is quite a natural arrangement. We share the same office and support staff but have our own desks and computers."

The FDFA promotes dual careers by supporting those accompanying their partner in their employment. With the possibility of job sharing and dual career promotion, it is positioning itself as a modern employer, enabling its staff to achieve a better balance between career and personal life.

Out of a total of about 1,150 full-time transferable positions in the FDFA, 18 staff have job-sharing arrangements, with 16 of them currently posted abroad.

Depending on the circumstances, Mr and Mrs Gonzenbach divide up the different topics and directly lead different people. The beauty of the arrangement is that they get to enjoy their job and family in a most fulfilling way.

Says Mrs Gonzenbach: "If there is an urgency or an intensive period at the embassy, we can both double our capacities, which is definitely a plus for the organisation. Also, we both bring along quite some experience from the 13 years we have been working in the FDFA.

"We feel that our different personalities lead to great outcomes and a happy team. The circuit breaker has been a challenge when we had to become the teachers of our children at the same time as managing a great workload at the embassy."

Adds Mr Gonzenbach: "We both enjoy our careers and are avoiding the 'trailing spouse' phenomenon, where one half of the couple is following the career lead of the other. For sure, we highly recommend job sharing."

A big plus for the couple sharing a job is that they are able to take leave together just as one person does. This enables them to go on family holidays.

"Once a year we usually go to Switzerland to see family and friends and catch up with what's going on in Bern. We usually spend most of our time there in the mountains, where we can go for long hikes and enjoy the pristine air," says Mrs Gonzenbach.

• This article first appeared in The Business Times.