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AMA

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

410 replies

SallyGs · 05/04/2024 12:39

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

OP posts:
boozeclues · 06/04/2024 19:21

I would also like to point out, many male counterparts will be filling their time up “working” by taking clients out and “networking” for most of the week.

There is a stereotype about men who earn this kind of money, that spend most of their time golfing for a reason.

TimeandMotion · 06/04/2024 19:35

boozeclues · 06/04/2024 19:21

I would also like to point out, many male counterparts will be filling their time up “working” by taking clients out and “networking” for most of the week.

There is a stereotype about men who earn this kind of money, that spend most of their time golfing for a reason.

I’m astonished at the massive leap from “my work doesn’t fill my day to” “it’s perfectly OK to take on another job and lie to both employers”. That is in a different league to slacking off from one job. And bragging about dishonesty is so childish.

boozeclues · 06/04/2024 19:41

TimeandMotion · 06/04/2024 19:35

I’m astonished at the massive leap from “my work doesn’t fill my day to” “it’s perfectly OK to take on another job and lie to both employers”. That is in a different league to slacking off from one job. And bragging about dishonesty is so childish.

Edited

I didn’t say it was ok, but I did say it was perfectly doable even if you have loads of responsibilities in your primary job.

I personally wouldn’t, although could technically find the time to pick up some freelance work 6 months of the year. I would find the deceit too stressful to manage.

But I also don’t think the OP is stealing or being a fraud. Whilst the letter of the law may say so, she is fulfilling her responsibilities that she is paid for!

It sounds like all her jobs are outcome based rather than productivity based, e.g you need to see so many patients a day, do x amount of data entry or bill this many hours.

I would imagine her targets are a lot like mine where it’s “increase sales by 40%” here is £4million to do it go off and pitch me an idea and make it happen.

SallyGs · 06/04/2024 20:24

Fallenangelofthenorth · 06/04/2024 18:59

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.

If you enjoy doing the extra then it’s no issue, but I do think everyone who is productive at some point has that realisation that they’re working extra for the same as people that do less.

If you’re just making other people’s lives easier and not your own, that’s not fair to you!

OP posts:
OrchardBlack · 07/04/2024 12:56

SallyGs · 05/04/2024 13:02

i ended up doing similar when I dropped from 5 to 3 jobs. I just let the others die out until I was fired! Still took them 4-5 months though so that’s additional money

Wowwwww

SallyGs · 07/04/2024 16:32

OrchardBlack · 07/04/2024 12:56

Wowwwww

Do you have a question? Or just here to make pointless remarks

OP posts:
Flax98765 · 16/04/2024 17:03

I think you mentioned that you have to into the office for your primary job sometimes. What do you do about the other two jobs on that day?

Immemorialelms · 16/04/2024 18:18

I keep thinking that the likely outcome of all this is that OP does one or two of her jobs in a slightly shit way for a while until they manage her out. She's mentioned leaving "when the heat gets too high" which sounds cool and counter cultural, hey, doesn't it?

What she is really doing is wasting loads of management time, probably having reviews, written warnings, blah blah. Wasting their time as she spins out the time they take to manage her out, taking advantage of legislation and practice - legislation which is bloody hard won, through bravery and strikes and pain and actual starvation of workers in the past. All the laws to protect workers from being taken advantage of, or summarily sacked.

I don't buy the thing about being super efficient in all jobs, if you're a more junior marketing person you will have things to turn up to and deliverables to achieve, and it will become obvious if they are done quickly or at night without the right level of input from colleagues etc.

The example above. If you're in an all day meeting at one job, and the other job wants you, presumably you just give an excuse or just don't show. Now, someone on my team could "not show" for quite a few meetings before I got pissed off enough to manage them more assertively. But I would start to notice, start to think about how to handle it, research the patterns, talk to colleagues. All additional to MY day job.

So I'd have someone not performing that well, or being flaky in team relationships and things I want them to attend. OK, they might be making money or completing their tasks, but all my team members also have cultural objectives and development ones and it sounds like OP doesn't GAF about that shit.

So I would turn attention to this low performing or patchy person and manage them more closely. I would start to ask for day plans of their week etc. I would follow up. I'm a good manager and I would ask myself if they were OK, if they needed support, if there was anything going on at home. A pain for me, more time I have to spend. Emotional labour.

OP would game that system relentlessly, getting more value for herself out of our work and taking more of my peace of mind and destroying a team culture into which she'd been welcomed in good faith.

So you can say yeah, capitalism, every person for themselves, dog eat dog... I'm afraid I see it as childish posturing and a distasteful breaking of the social contract.

Our employment rights are precious and hard won. If you think the 9-5 isn't an efficient way to work, and you can be more productive, then go set up your own consultancy and show us all a better way of working. Don't just steal from the collective till. I bet you'd be the first to bleat if your protections or sick leave or maternity leave vanished because of people taking the piss.

LoadsToLose · 16/04/2024 18:52

Couldn’t agree more with you @Immemorialelms 100% agree

I’ve also been thinking about this thread because I was so shocked people like this exist in British society. It completely breaks our social contract and undermines hard earned rights and culture as you say.

However the person I feel most sorry for in all this is this woman’s child. What an example to set a child. They will grow up with a warped sense of what is socially acceptable and it could lead to serious repercussions for their life outcomes.

0sm0nthus · 18/04/2024 13:23

SallyGs · 07/04/2024 16:32

Do you have a question? Or just here to make pointless remarks

Yes shame on you @OrchardBlack 😱
How dare you make a pointless remark on this thread where the highly accomplished @SallyGs has deigned to speak to us lowly worthless underachievers
We are not worthy oh great one🙇🏼‍♀️

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