Job jugglers working hard to get ahead, but suspicious employers are catching on

I’ll sleep when I die, as the saying goes. More and more people are juggling jobs to make a decent living. However, employers want them back in the office so that they can “work like hell.”

An exclusive story by the Wall Street Journal this week has caused quite a stir in Wall Street. The report circles around the problem of overworked bankers who are even advised to lie not to exceed their hourly limits.

“A junior banker said he worried that some of his colleagues might continue lying about their hours because there is pressure to get credit for working as hard as possible,” WSJ reported.

Long story short, ten years after a young intern died in the Bank of America London office, people are still sweating for their employers.

But there’s also another kind of overworked person – those who sign up for remote work so they can have two or even more 9-to-5 contracts.

An increasing number of people are juggling jobs (job jugglers) and managing to double or even triple their income. While some report doing so they could travel around the world and send their kids to private schools, others are forced to be over-employed to make ends meet.

Some job jugglers report receiving as much as $1 million a year, which obviously means a significant improvement in their financial well-being.

These workers are said to be over-employed – they have more than one full-time gig, meaning, at least two or more 9-to-5 jobs.

However, employers are catching up with the trends. In June, Wells Fargo fired a number of employees after they allegedly caught them using tools like mouse jigglers to try to spoof surveillance systems.

Disney, Amazon, Meta, IBM, and Roblox are just a few of the companies that have issued partial or full returns to the office, making it harder for some employees to keep up with their outside responsibilities.

“I'm in a bit of a bind with J1. They're starting to investigate my work because I'm not always available on Teams, even though my productivity is just above the required quota. I'm concerned that this situation might spiral out of control, potentially putting my J2 at risk,” one Redditor shared.

Now, if all the key performance indicators are on track, isn’t that enough? Who does it hurt if a person has another job? Based on a Monster poll from 2023, over one-third of respondents had more than one full-time job.

“So, I had to work with one toddler for a month after my car broke down. It’s not for the weak,” one Reddit user said.

For many so-called job jugglers, this is a temporary gig. They start a second and maybe a third job to pay off student loans and mortgages, pay medical or daycare bills, or for something pleasant like a trip around the world. A worker gets the money they need, an employer gets a project completed. It’s a win-win situation.

Some over-employed people don’t even do it for the money – they reportedly find another job to simply learn more skills, as well as diversify their income and ensure financial stability.

Quite naturally, such people risk burnout, which is already a huge issue for cybersecurity pros. But given the skills shortage in cybersecurity, would you rather have a tired professional or none at all?

Many employers speak in favor of office settings. In a recent public speech at Stanford, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the company’s focus on worker wellbeing essentially harms the tech giant.

“Google decided that work-life balance, going home early, and working from home, was more important than winning. And the startups, the reason startups work is the people work like hell,”

former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said.

Well, some people seem to work “like hell,” but they do it for themselves and their families and not as much to make their bosses rich.

If over-employment could buy you your dream vacation and let you send your kids to a school of your choosing, you’d surely pursue that path, maybe risking burnout and a layoff. Many report experiencing high stress levels.

“Actively not taking things personally. Lots of swearing. A sense of humor helps. Most of all, reminding myself that it isn’t permanent and it’s all about the $$$,” another Redditor said.

Some report using burner phones for work hours, exercising more, and playing video games. Others resort to drugs, or practice mindfulness, among other coping mechanisms.

Of course, some of those over-employed people are so-called mouse jigglers – workers who use different devices to make it seem like they’re working when they’re actually not.

Businesses are catching up with the trend and are not letting it slide. A recent survey by YouGov found that 47% of decision-makers at large businesses that employ more than 250 staff members believe full-time office work is important.

However, wanting a higher income and working hard for it is no crime, as long as you aren’t breaching a contract with your employer. If you are one of those people juggling a few jobs at the same time, you’re definitely not alone.