I’m an ‘overworker’ and have 3 FT jobs - AMA

[SallyGs]

Ive had a few people now mention on the careers topic to do an AMA so am taking the plunge.

An overworker is someone who holds multiple full time roles at the same time. Started in the US and became big during COVID - for obvious reasons as it’s pretty much impossible to do with non remote work.

I currently have 3 full time jobs, at my peak I had 5 during 2020. And am working towards buying a rental property with my additional income.

So for anyone who has wondered about it or are interested in trying it themselves - AMA

This is fraud or a lie. You wouldn’t get through screening at my firm. We withdraw offers or sack people for this. Don’t underestimate the surveillance capabilities of the companies you work for. I hope you get caught.

Any comment on this thread?
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/work/5043572-not-prewarned-about-changes

Especially on the "This has stemmed from someone else saying they don't have time to line manager because they are working in another job in works time." comment?

I guess we probably both find each others working world quite baffling.

I've only worked for small businesses doing practical work and they wouldn't survive if they paid someone a full weeks salary for 6-10 hours work. The bosses absolutely know the difference between 5 or 6 hours work (because they are doing similar stuff themselves) and a week's work- even taking into account people's speed and efficiency.

Yawn. Good thing I don’t work for your firm then.

I don’t have much comment as I don’t really understand it tbh, a bit difficult to ascertain what the issue is

Might be the key, I’ve only ever really worked for large companies

When you're high up the food chain you ain't on an hourly rate. Our local marina is full, yachts at eye watering prices. They have yachts abroad too. One old school friend has a boat in the UK for weekends. Another in the med. For longer breaks. Properties in the UK and overseas.

We were at a school ball he attended. He joked with the old headmaster that back in the day he'd been told he'd amount to nothing.

He just happened to be a marketing genius. Who is still a lovely fun guy with his feet still on the ground.

It's not how many hours you slog but how you use them.

It’s just occurred to me that this is called moonlighting and not overworking. It’s a term that has been widely used and well known, so why change it?

They're not the same thing. Moonlighting refers to a second job performed outside your day job, hence the term "moonlighting" as generally performed in the evening. Overemployment is when you perform more than one job simultaneously.

But surely you can read the post and see what the issue is?

Is it too confusing for you?

So you say that you are so valued at your “primary” that they have put you on some sort of “flight risk” register to basically bend over backwards to keep you.

You also say that they don’t care how long it takes you to do your work because they pay for what you deliver.

So why not just tell them that you are not fulfilled enough by what you do, so you will be looking for/have been offered another job elsewhere. When they ask what they can do to keep you, tell them that you want to be able to do freelance work for third parties so please take that clause out of the contract. You’re happy for there to be a clause that says you can’t work for another organisation in the same sector. No skin off their noses, is it?

But no illicit thrill for you I guess.

I really don’t see the issue. The fact you’re stretching this far for some weird gotcha is pretty concerning - are you quite alright?

And I thought your other posts made you look silly…

🤡

Because it’s a big risk, those discussions rely on HR being willing to change contract terms, and considering how much of a drama it was to get a 4 day week from them after coming back from maternity leave despite the most snr person in the org for Europe telling HR to get their lives together and do it - I’d not bank on them listening to the common sense elements here.

Not sure how many different ways I can write the same thing.

So your “flight risk” status not really worth anything at all then?

I threatened to leave my job (large corporate) and they threw money at me to stay. Told me to rewrite my job spec to match the new job I’d been offered, gave me extra annual leave and an immediate cash bonus. And I didn’t even know that they were that bothered about keeping me.

I get it op, quite a lot of the time on threads like this and WFH threads people who dont do these kind of jobs can’t grasp that most of the time you are paid to think not do. Most paid work is very transactional, even well paid jobs like doctors etc your productivity is measured more on what you have done in a day and how many hours you have worked.

There is times in my job where I think I could take on something freelance in a different sector that I am working in currently. (used to freelance now I am perm). But my work is more peaks and troughs so I would have to carefully plan, and the stress and risk is just not worth it! Although I know people who do it a lot in my industry (IT consultancy).

At the minute I am negotiating budgets for the next financial year and at a critical stage of a project I am on. But when things are going well (as in the idea I have suggested and planned is being perfectly executed by my team) I have very little to do!

Of course it is, as they too throw money at me and enhanced bonuses. I am also able to get full relocation packages if I wish to move, I have an unlimited L&D budget and enhanced travel privileges which include paying for my DH and DD to travel with me if a trip is longer than 2 consecutive days. They are also given their own expenses budget for spends, to match mine on any trips longer than 2 consecutive days. When I returned to work they even covered the cost of ferrying my expressed breast milk back home when I had to travel - which was very expensive since it’s climate controlled transport.

Unfortunately in large organisations contract changes are pretty difficult since they are often standardised across tens of thousands of people. And it’s simply not worth risking it when I can get away with it now just fine.

Even in your example your contract terms didn’t change, so really not sure what you’re even trying to achieve here except looking like an absolute tool (more so than you already have with your idiotic comments throughout this thread)

Definitely, I’ve always had it throughout my career ‘we pay you for your brain, not your bum on a seat’

Last summer I didn’t even manage an hour a week at my primary due to most of my main stakeholders being off and a big lull in my main deliverable for 2023. Which was lovely but many on here just don’t get it, nor can they grasp things outside of their field of view.

Its strange because I can quite grasp the concept of people working so hard they have no spare time to even eat lunch, not sure why it’s so difficult in reverse for some

I am actually not qualified to do most of the work my team does (e.g I am not an engineer and can’t code!)

But I am a whizz at analysing a problem, coming up with a solution, considering all
the risks and devising a solid plan with clear metrics, that my team then execute. I am then just the “face” for the Project and only need step in when things go wrong.

if I didn’t have so many update meetings with various boards etc I would be sat twiddling my thumbs most days.

Ironically if I was crap at my job I would be much busier!

I did. They only go to prove my point.

Very telling how readily you descend into personal abuse.

I find your attitude quite inspiring to be honest. I'm an accountant and pretty much my entire career I've had my main job and then done a bit of bookkeeping/accounts prep on the side. I've done it mainly out of necessity though - especially after my second divorce as couldn't make ends meet as well as keep the family home. I ended up burning myself out though as I did my second job on top, when really I could have quite easily have done it during working hours, and STILL delivered more than colleagues. I do wonder if the reason I'm so efficient is because perhaps that's what colleagues are doing too. I've only done one job for the past couple of years because I just couldn't do the hours anymore.

I have recently been offered another side job, hence my interest in your thread in the first place. I probably still wouldn't have the guts to carry it out in my working hours, but I do think I'm gonna stick to my contracted hours and fit it in that way. I don't even need to work overtime, I just do it because there's always something I can do, even if it's stuff like bringing forward projects, or automating a process for a colleague. I actually feel like a bit of a mug to be honest, because I'm the one making life easier for those around me, who I can see tossing it off, and my daughter is the one with no college fund.

Whilst I think the OP has been a bit snarky in her comments, I think she has also had a bit of a pile
on from commenters who just don’t get the nuance of what she is trying to say.

Suggestions like “ask for more work if you are not fulfilled” shows a level of misunderstanding of the OPs primary role. Her primary company would absolutely be stupid to give her more work as I imagine the level of operational and financial
risk that the OP is responsible for on £120k a year is outstanding (I am on a lot less but still a very high earner and I am dealing with budgets that could change the course of a business). It would make no commercial sense to add more responsibility to a singular person whose decisions carry that much weight. You don’t put your eggs in one basket!!!

Kudos to the OP for being able to come up with ideas and execute her strategic plans to a point where she can watch them come to fruition with very minimal input. I am sure if it all went tits up at her primary job she would drop her more junior roles and go fire fight.

Is it immoral? Possibly, have I thought about doing it? Yes. Would I? No because I couldn’t imagine the stress of being found out each day! But physically, for probably 6 months of the year, I could do the same.

Go for it. Door mats get trodden on