Could You Handle More Than One Full-Time Job? 37% of Workers Do

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Talk about a tough schedule to uphold. 

Many workers have been struggling with higher living costs for well over a year now. We can thank raging inflation for that.

If you’ve spent the better part of the past 12 months crunching numbers, clipping coupons, and sadly watching your savings account balance dwindle, you’re not alone. And you may also be eager to boost your income to compensate for inflation.

For many people, that means getting a side hustle. But in a recent Monster report, 37% of workers admitted to having more than one full-time job. Not only that, but 57% of workers said they’d consider having more than one full-time job.

Of course, holding down more than one full-time job may be doable. But is it a good way to live? Probably not. And maintaining that schedule could have negative consequences in time.

Your mental and physical health could suffer

In the survey, 80% of those working more than one full-time job said they do so because they need more money than what one full-time job offers. And 44% say they want a backup plan in case they’re laid off.

These reasons make sense. But if you hold down multiple full-time jobs for too long, you might impact your mental and physical health for the worse.

Having no downtime just isn’t healthy. It can easily lead to full-blown job-related burnout. But if you’re holding down more than one full-time job, you’re probably working every single hour you aren’t showering or sleeping.

And speaking of sleeping, if working more than one full-time job is causing you to lose out on shut-eye, the health effects could catch up to you over time. The result? Not only your physical suffering, but also, costly medical bills.

A better solution when one job won’t cut it

If your full-time job isn’t giving you a robust enough paycheck to cover your living costs, and you really don’t have expenses to reasonably cut back on, then it’s easy to see why you may feel compelled to get yourself a second full-time job. But before you go that route, look into different side hustle options.

Some side hustles can be quite lucrative, especially if you have the right skills or learn to be really efficient. Let’s say you’re great with computers and can update a basic website in less than an hour. If you charge clients $100 apiece for a website update, you might manage to earn enough money to meet your financial needs without having to commit to a second job that requires you to maintain a full-time schedule.

Don’t take chances

Working more than one full-time job could yield some positive financial results at first. It might allow you to pad your savings, pay off your credit cards, and finally have enough money to cover your bills without stress.

But holding down multiple full-time jobs isn’t really a healthy way to live. And so if that’s a situation you’re in or are contemplating, you may want to rethink it.

Not only might multiple full-time jobs lead to burnout, but you might land in the position where you end up failing at your jobs — and losing them. Rather than run that risk, find a job with growth opportunity to focus your efforts on. And then work gigs on the side to supplement your income as necessary.

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