Members are assigned to positions for varying lengths of time, while routine functions such as kitchen and dining hall duty are performed on a rotation basis. Each economic branch is headed by an elected administrator who is replaced every 2-3 years. An economic coordinator is responsible for organizing the work of the different branches and for implementing production and investment plans. Although management positions are increasingly professionalized, the kibbutzim have adopted various methods of administration and organization to adapt their economic structure to the needs of the times without losing a sense of mutual responsibility and equality of work. Women are equal participants in the labor force, with jobs in all parts of the kibbutz open to them.
Older members receive suitable work assignments according to their health and stamina.
Most members work in the kibbutz itself. However, some are employed in regional kibbutz enterprises, a few are sent by the kibbutz to perform educational and political functions under the aegis of its national movement, and others pursue their own special talent or profession outside the kibbutz framework. The income of these outside workers is turned over to the kibbutz. The occasional lack of personnel for factories, agricultural tasks, tourism services and other jobs necessitates hiring paid workers, although this practice is contrary to the kibbutz principle of self-reliance in labor. Many kibbutzim host young volunteers from Israel and abroad for periods of one month or longer in exchange for work, thus partially solving the dilemma of obtaining outside labor.