diff --git a/core/Command/Background/JobWorker.php b/core/Command/Background/JobWorker.php
index 0cfe9db940b10..0f160e442787a 100644
--- a/core/Command/Background/JobWorker.php
+++ b/core/Command/Background/JobWorker.php
@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ protected function configure(): void {
 			->setDescription('Run a background job worker')
 			->addArgument(
 				'job-classes',
-				InputArgument::OPTIONAL,
-				'The classes of the jobs to look for in the database, comma-separated'
+				InputArgument::OPTIONAL | InputArgument::IS_ARRAY,
+				'The classes of the jobs to look for in the database'
 			)
 			->addOption(
 				'once',
@@ -73,25 +73,11 @@ protected function configure(): void {
 	}
 
 	protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int {
-		$jobClassesString = $input->getArgument('job-classes');
-		// only keep non-empty strings
-		$jobClasses = $jobClassesString === null
-			? null
-			: array_filter(
-				explode(',', $jobClassesString),
-				static function (string $jobClass) {
-					return strlen($jobClass) > 0;
-				}
-			);
+		$jobClasses = $input->getArgument('job-classes');
+		$jobClasses = empty($jobClasses) ? null : $jobClasses;
 
 		if ($jobClasses !== null) {
-			// no class
-			if (count($jobClasses) === 0) {
-				$output->writeln('<error>Invalid job class list supplied</error>');
-				return 1;
-			}
-
-			// at least one invalid class
+			// at least one class is invalid
 			foreach ($jobClasses as $jobClass) {
 				if (!class_exists($jobClass)) {
 					$output->writeln('<error>Invalid job class: ' . $jobClass . '</error>');
@@ -115,10 +101,10 @@ static function (string $jobClass) {
 			$job = $this->jobList->getNext(false, $jobClasses);
 			if (!$job) {
 				if ($input->getOption('once') === true) {
-					if ($jobClassesString === null) {
+					if ($jobClasses === null) {
 						$output->writeln('No job is currently queued', OutputInterface::VERBOSITY_VERBOSE);
 					} else {
-						$output->writeln('No job of classes ' . $jobClassesString . ' is currently queued', OutputInterface::VERBOSITY_VERBOSE);
+						$output->writeln('No job of classes [' . implode(', ', $jobClasses) . '] is currently queued', OutputInterface::VERBOSITY_VERBOSE);
 					}
 					$output->writeln('Exiting...', OutputInterface::VERBOSITY_VERBOSE);
 					break;
diff --git a/cron.php b/cron.php
index d0a8b770dfc82..9b0489653efd0 100644
--- a/cron.php
+++ b/cron.php
@@ -62,10 +62,10 @@
   Run the background job routine
 
 Usage:
-  php -f cron.php -- [-h] [<job-classes>]
+  php -f cron.php -- [-h] [<job-classes>...]
 
 Arguments:
-  job-classes                  Optional job class comma-separated list to only run those jobs
+  job-classes                  Optional job class list to only run those jobs
 
 Options:
   -h, --help                 Display this help message' . PHP_EOL;
@@ -175,16 +175,10 @@
 		$endTime = time() + 14 * 60;
 
 		$executedJobs = [];
-		// a specific job class list can optionally be given as first argument
-		// only keep non-empty strings
-		$jobClasses = isset($argv[1])
-			? array_filter(
-				explode(',', $argv[1]),
-				static function (string $jobClass) {
-					return strlen($jobClass) > 0;
-				}
-			)
-			: null;
+		// a specific job class list can optionally be given as argument
+		$jobClasses = array_slice($argv, 1);
+		$jobClasses = empty($jobClasses) ? null : $jobClasses;
+
 		while ($job = $jobList->getNext($onlyTimeSensitive, $jobClasses)) {
 			if (isset($executedJobs[$job->getId()])) {
 				$jobList->unlockJob($job);