The surge in remote workers resulting from the pandemic has created the trend of remote workers secretly working two jobs at the same time in overwhelming numbers. A study conducted one year since the pandemic showed most people working remotely from home have taken up activities while working such as taking naps, shopping, dating, and secretly working a second job for double income.
In a survey, 50% of participants responded that they’ve worked for another company while on the clock with their initial employer. With the long amount of time working from home with most employees working for less pay or less hours, many have taken advantage of these means to earn a second paycheck without companies knowing.
Employees claiming to work two full-time positions earned upwards of $200,000 to $600,000 in annual salary including stock options and bonuses. This trend is catching on with more companies that have resulted into monitoring workers than getting work done as it is hard to catch employees that are double-dipping.
This has become so common there is a website called Overemployed offers a how-to guide on working two jobs at once which might seem impossible but is more of a juggling game. People working two jobs might be making more money but are working for more time over 40 hours per week juggling tasks for each company and trying not to get caught.
Overemployed suggests not talking to anyone about having two jobs suggesting if you can’t keep the secret, how can you trust the people you tell to keep it. This is for the employee’s protection and most people working two jobs are found through insider networks with similar connections.
Another suggestion is not falling in love with your jobs, especially your second one as it is harder to make logical decisions with personal attachments. Some employees become close with the people or company that can make it hard to leave even if you know there are better possible opportunities.
Every worker is familiar with setting goals, but this becomes more important juggling two jobs. Workers should consider setting a personal goal whether it’s financial freedom or paying off any debt, so they don’t lose focus while fighting burnout and stress.
Most of these double employed workers are working in a field that they have an advantage in secretly working two positions and they don’t seek out the second position. Most of these workers are taking advantage of the opportunities that fall in their lap and just have to sneak around to avoid getting caught.