Latest news with #multiplejobs


Fast Company
23-07-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
I'm an HP exec: I believe employees should have the right to work multiple jobs
The controversy surrounding Soham Parekh, the software engineer accused of secretly holding multiple jobs, has sparked a predictable backlash against 'overemployment.' Parekh's methods—he reportedly misled multiple employers—were clearly unethical, but this shouldn't obscure a broader question: Is it time to rethink our antipathy toward employees holding multiple jobs? A double standard? Parekh's case notwithstanding, there's a deeper structural issue at play. Why should it be acceptable for some CEOs to hold leadership roles at multiple companies yet unacceptable for a talented marketer or software engineer to have multiple jobs? The world of work has fundamentally changed, and limiting people to one job is an outdated idea that doesn't benefit anyone. Startups have embraced fractional executives; CFOs, CMOs, and other senior positions going part time is now standard practice. However, large corporations continue to address similar needs exclusively through consulting arrangements. This highlights a significant gap in how organizations approach talent acquisition and utilization. This disparity provides valuable context for understanding why employees may resort to undisclosed secondary employment. By establishing clear policies and frameworks for multiple job arrangements, organizations could provide more transparent alternatives to the current trend of covert moonlighting. The gap between evolving work patterns and traditional corporate structures points to an opportunity for more adaptive talent management strategies. The inevitable shift Workers don't have it easy today. Fresh graduates worry about their job prospects as entry-level roles shift to AI. Warehouse workers face replacement by robots. Large corporations continue to outsource jobs to cheaper sources of labor. We need to tilt the scales back in favor of workers and create an environment where talented and productive people can make a better living. By removing the taboo of overemployment, we would create an environment where honesty is rewarded over secrecy. AI is only going to make performing multiple jobs (a lot) easier. We should get ahead of this trend and bring it out into the open instead of pretending it won't happen. How many other Soham Parekhs are out there today, perhaps working at your own company? We really have no idea, but there are likely to be more of them moving forward. Toward mutual benefit This isn't just about employee flexibility; it could be a win for employers who are struggling to retain talent amid strict return-to-office mandates (another antiquated idea). It would allow enterprises to become more agile, tapping into top-tier talent only when needed. Furthermore, this shift would encourage a focus on outcomes and productivity rather than just managing hours in the office. The root cause of overemployment isn't that it's unethical, it's that we're forcing it underground. The real scandal isn't workers maximizing their earning potential; it's employers clinging to the primitive concepts that they own their employees' entire productive capacity. Transparent overemployment could actually strengthen the job market. Imagine if companies had to compete not just on salary, but on being the kind of workplace that actually cares about the employee experience. While we can all acknowledge the shift in traditional corporate jobs isn't going to be easy or happen overnight, we must also accept that the current system punishes honesty and rewards deception. We've turned competent professionals into corporate double agents. This isn't sustainable, and it's certainly not efficient. The question isn't whether overemployment will continue, it's whether we'll legitimize it before the whole charade collapses under its own absurdity. The industrial age is dead, but we're still using its rule book. While AI copilots and agentic workflows obliterate the tedious grunt work that once consumed entire careers, we're clinging to antiquated notions of what constitutes a 'full-time' commitment. The math is brutal: If machines can handle the repetitive tasks that fill 40-hour weeks, why are we pretending humans still need to be chained to single desks?
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What is polyworking? Half of workers do it, survey shows
This story was originally published on HR Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily HR Dive newsletter. Nearly half of U.S. workers — 47% — said they polywork, or hold multiple jobs or roles at one time rather than depend on a single primary employer for income, according to a June report from Monster. In this survey of more than 700 U.S. workers, 51% say their additional monthly income from polyworking is 'absolutely essential,' and they couldn't cover basic costs without it, Monster found. Sixty-eight percent of workers said they needed the extra money to cover living expenses, while 47% said it fosters financial independence and flexibility, 46% said it helps pay off debt and more than one-third said it provided a safety net to help guard against insecurity in their primary job. About half of those who polywork have a full-time time job and one or more part-time jobs. Meanwhile 28% have multiple part-time jobs and 12% have more than one full-time job, with 59% of respondents saying they'd be willing to work more than one full-time job. Workers expressed mixed feelings about the effects of polywork on their productivity and job performance. While 29% said it's been beneficial, 31% said it's been detrimental. Looking ahead to the future, 38% of workers plan to keep working multiple jobs to achieve their career goals. In contrast, 31% consider polywork a temporary solution while they figure out their career path, and 26% said long-term polywork would negatively affect their mental health. Facing economic anxiety, 64% of workers said they plan to get a second job or start a side hustle in the next year to boost their income, according to a recent American Staffing Association report. The same publication showed that nearly 1 in 5 respondents said their savings could cover less than a month of expenses, while another third said their savings could last for one to five months. Generation Z workers, in particular, are turning to side hustles to create financial cushion and build skills, according to a Quicken report. Only half of those with multiple sources of income have told their full-time employer about their side hustle, per the report. As more employees polywork, some companies are asking employees what they do with their time or using productivity tracking software and email monitoring tools. One expert who previously spoke to HR Dive said employers should set clear productivity goals and make sure workers meet them rather than fire them or try to control employees' lives outside of work. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Wall Street Journal
19-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Americans Are Side Hustling Like We're in a Recession
Does your friend with a second job know something you don't? The share of working Americans holding down multiple jobs rose to between 5.3% and 5.5% during the first five months of the year. That's a range we haven't seen since the recession of the aughts, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.


SBS Australia
17-06-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
Almost 1 million Australians work multiple jobs under cost-of-living pressure
Almost 1 million Australians work multiple jobs under cost-of-living pressure Published 17 June 2025, 10:57 am Record numbers of Australians are supplementing their income with side hustles and multiple jobs according to the Australian Tax Office, who is now reminding people to include any extra income in their tax return. The side hustle – a passion project, or an additional job to earn extra cash – has become a vital income stream for some, but means some Australians are sacrificing rest, health and family time to survive financially.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reason Aussies are working multiple jobs
The post-Covid boom in the number of Aussies working multiple jobs continues as higher cost of living pressures means more workers are taking on a second gig. The Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that in the March quarter there were 963,100 Aussies – or 6.5 per cent of the workforce – who had more than one job. While this is actually down from the previous quarter where 999,500 Australians held multiple jobs, it is still a sharp uptick in workers looking to diversify their incomes compared with the years prior to Covid, where around 5 to 6 per cent of Aussies took on a second gig. Seek senior economist Blair Chapman said the spike in cost-of-living pressures from inflation meant more Australians needed to take on extra work. 'We've really seen cost-of-living, especially for employee households, increase quite a lot over the last couple of years,' he said. 'If you've got a mortgage, those repayments have increased quite a bit over the last couple of years so I suspect people have sought a second job just to reach the higher cost of living recently.' Australians are holding onto their second job despite the overall unemployment rate holding firm in recent months, around the 4.1 per cent mark. The main driving force behind this trend is underemployment meaning workers are getting fewer hours from their primary employer than they'd like. 'We are seeing more people being employed in industries where we tend to see a lot of multiple job holdings,' Mr Chapman said. 'For example, we've seen healthcare and social assistance grow and that is one of the industries where multiple job holdings are most common. 'That comes down to the nature of the work, where you have shift work and one business may not be able to provide all the hours an employee wants so the individual has to work across multiple sites to get the hours they are desiring.' Many of these multiple job holders are Australians aged between 20-24, with women more likely to hold a second role over males. In contrast older Australians aged between 60 to 64 are the least likely to hold a second role. 'When we look at a lot of the multiple job holders, they tend to be younger. Maybe it is a university aged person who can't work full-time but can work nights and weekends,' Mr Chapman said. 'While maybe it is not the same job but for them it is probably good they can work multiple jobs with flexible hours.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data