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Sarah secretly works 12-hour days across two jobs, and while that leaves little downtime, she said it’s a worthwhile effort.
“I want to ride this out until I retire,” said Sarah, whose identity was verified by Business Insider but who asked to use a pseudonym, citing fears of professional repercussions.
So far, the strategy has paid off: Sarah worked two remote IT jobs simultaneously until December, when she was laid off from one. She said she was relieved to have the second income.
“It really gave me a sense of security, knowing that I had another job,” Sarah said.
In February, Sarah landed a second full-time remote IT job and is on track to earn about $300,000 this year across her jobs. Over the last four years, Sarah said the extra income from job juggling has allowed her to save more than $100,000 in her 401(k)s, pay off $17,000 in credit card debt, and furnish her home. She said these benefits offset the downsides of juggling, including that she has less time and energy for her family and hobbies.
Sarah, who’s in her 50s and lives in the Southeast, is among some of the Americans who have secretly juggled multiple remote roles to increase their incomes. Over the past two years, BI has interviewed more than two dozen “overemployed” workers who’ve used their extra cash to travel the world, buy expensive weight-loss drugs, and pay down their student debt.
To be sure, holding multiple jobs without employer approval could have professional repercussions and lead to burnout. However, most job jugglers have told BI that the financial benefits have generally outweighed the downsides and risks.
Limiting burnout from a 12-hour workday
Sarah said job juggling requires long hours, but she’s figured out how to make it work.
She works Eastern hours for one job, and since she lives in the same time zone, she works from roughly 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Her other job follows Pacific Standard Time, so her hours are 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET.
“There is a level of stress because I am connected from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.,” she said, adding that she sometimes has work calls as late as 7:30 p.m. ET.
However, Sarah said the schedule works in her favor. She doesn’t have to think about her West Coast job until noon and can focus solely on it after logging off from her East Coast job around 5 p.m. She said the most demanding stretch is between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., when both jobs are busy.
To avoid burnout, Sarah said she travels with her family when she can, watches her favorite TV shows, and rewards herself for her hard work. Sometimes, that means splurging on clothes, shoes, special dinners, or spa days.
“Having something to look forward to is a great motivator,” she said.
Still, she tries to stay realistic: Working 12-hour days means giving up time she might otherwise spend with her family or on her hobbies.
Return-to-office mandates haven’t stopped her job juggling
In December 2020, Sarah was working remotely when a headhunter reached out about a full-time contract job that paid about $30,000 more than the position she held. The job was remote at the time due to the pandemic, but it was based in another state and could eventually require in-office work. When Sarah said she wouldn’t be willing to relocate, the headhunter told her she could accept the job — and then quit if working from the office became mandatory.
Later that month, Sarah accepted the job offer and, in January 2021, began juggling two roles for the first time. She worked both jobs until last December.
Sarah said the employer of her contract job implemented a return-to-office policy over the past year, but because her contract specifies remote work, she hasn’t been affected. However, her contract is up for its annual reassessment this summer, but she’s hopeful she’ll be allowed to continue working remotely.
“There’s a need to have me there,” she said, adding, “I told them that if I ever had to come in, I probably would quit.”
Looking ahead, Sarah said she plans to keep job-juggling for the foreseeable future. If she quits her contract role, she’s confident that she’ll be able to land a new remote job.
While her workload can be tough to manage at times, she said she’d rather work the occasional weekend than give up one of her gigs.
“I will do what I need to do to get the work done,” she said.
Do you have a story to share about secretly working multiple jobs or discovering an employee is doing so? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal at jzinkula.29.
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