Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Equitable Work Sharing

[Oliveau (Oliveau]

Hey Everyone,
    I though I'd tell you how our community deals with  this workshare 
(details below).  The result is everyone contributes  something.  But there are 
still those who do much more than required.   Speaking as one of the 
over-contributors, I agree with the person (I think it  was Rob S.) who said 
those who do 
more work are the lucky ones:  I feel a  sense of ownership and pride in my 
community that others miss out on.   Plus, what I think is important to do, 
gets 
done.
 
We have a workshare requirement of 8 hrs/month per household with a  $10/hr 
buyout ($80/month).  You must pay the buyout whether you work or  not.  At the 
end of each quarter (3 months) you must report what work and  when you did it. 
 At that point you will receive a refund for the hours  worked.  We have 
guidelines about what counts as workshare, but people are  allowed to choose 
what 
they do and how long.
 
We find that this system serves us well.  The reporting requirement  keeps 
people honest.  Reporting also gives those who are working an  appreciation for 
all the things others are doing.  Those who don't  participate in any way are 
required to pay the buyout (we call it a "Maintenance  Fee").  It's a lot 
easier to refund money for work done than to hound  people for buyout fees.  
 
We also have a ethos that if we don't do necessary repair work ourselves,  we 
will pay someone to do the work and dues will go up.  We just had our  annual 
budget meeting in which we agreed to raise dues $50/month next  year because 
we spent a lot of money hiring someone to repair our  barn.  People were 
unhappy about the increase, but they understood it was  necessary.  If we had 
had 
much more participation on workdays, that might  not have been necessary.
 
Hope that helps,
-Kevin Oliveau
Catoctin Creek Village





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