Why are you working more than one job? Perhaps the creative career you want isn’t self-supporting yet, so you’re working a full-time job that pays the bills while pursuing your dream in your off hours.
Maybe you love your full-time job, but you want more experience to climb the career ladder faster. Or you’re saving your second-job pay for a down payment on a house before starting a family. Or maybe, like many people who are trying to keep up with the high cost of living, you need more than 1 job just to make ends meet.
How do you juggle jobs, work toward your goals, and still have some work-life balance?
Assess what you’re doing and what you want
The first step is understanding what you want over the long term. What are your goals for your career and your life? Assessing your goals can help you consider what you’re doing now, what you’d like to be doing in 5, 10, or 20 years, and whether your current work is getting you there. For example:
If your goal is creative writing, could you work full time as a technical writer and pursue creative writing part time until you’re able to make your dream job into reality?
If you’re working 2 jobs as a financial customer service representative to climb the career ladder to financial planning, would it make sense to give up 1 job and spend that time upskilling?
If you’re working 3 part-time jobs in retail sales, could 1 of them become full-time work? Would that improve your financial situation by making you eligible for benefits? Could you progress from there into a full-time job as a retail store manager?
Build a manageable schedule
Managing multiple commitments can start with something simple, like using a single calendar to track shifts, deadlines, commute times, and family commitments. If you live in the suburbs, but both your jobs are downtown, laying your schedule out visually might show you ways that you can group your hours to reduce travel time or downtime between jobs.
Would your employer consider flexible scheduling if you could show how it benefits both of you? Some research has shown up to 80% of workers consider flexible hours to be a key factor in their job search, and 85% of employers reported an increase in productivity after introducing flexible scheduling.
Flexible scheduling includes options such as:
Compressed work weeks. Instead of working 40 hours over 5 days, you could work 10-hour days for 4 days per week, or 80 hours over 9 days, or 3 days of 12 hours. Compressing work into fewer days frees up non-workdays to do remote work that aligns more with long-term goals, or to pursue creative or educational opportunities.
Flextime. Workers set their own start and end times. If you work 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., you could work another job in the evenings, or spend time on a passion project that will build toward a long-term work goal.
Job sharing. 2 workers share 1 full-time job to fit their personal needs while keeping that shift always covered. Making a full-time job part-time may help you manage more than 1 job. It can also help your employer cover sick days for both workers.
Shift-bidding. Employers post open shifts and workers bid on those that will best fit their needs. Employers or an automated system assigns shifts to the best match for company needs.
What fits with your situation?
The options that work best for you will differ depending on your situation.
Solo parents. All parents balance paid work and unpaid responsibilities, but solo parenting can make that harder. This isn’t limited to single parents. If your partner works 16-hour days in the film industry or drives long-haul truck routes, you’re solo parenting much of the time. Your employer needs to know you can’t manage last-minute shift changes. If that can’t be avoided, choose a licensed home-based daycare with flexible pick-up times. Look into help from the Alberta government’s child care subsidy program and support for daycare fees, especially if you’re also going back to school.
Students may also have 2 jobs—a full-time job (learning) and a part-time job (earning). Look for work that allows you to schedule fewer hours before major projects or exams. Use times without so many academic requirements to work as much as possible.
Rural and remote workers: Minimize commute time and costs by seeking remote or hybrid options. If you must commute to more than 1 job, try to group locations and hours to reduce time between jobs. Ask your employer to consider a compressed work week, which could cut out 1 or more commuting days per week.
Protect your physical and mental well‑being
Working multiple jobs can be hard on every aspect of your well-being. Consider these tips to support your health:
Schedule sleep time AND wakeful downtime: We know that 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night is recommended. Research shows that occasionally letting your thoughts wander also supports mental health. It’s easy to schedule quiet downtime. Instead of eating lunch with others daily, spend an occasional meal alone with your thoughts. Don’t try to read or study every minute that you’re on public transit. Instead, stare out the window sometimes, because that’s healthy too.
Eat well: Include meal and snack breaks in your daily routine. Set aside time on your days off to prepare lunches and dinners for the week. This will save time on workdays, support good nutrition, and save money (by not buying meals or snacks).
Include physical exercise: You don’t always have to go to the gym to get exercise. Walk from one job to the next or go for a walk on your meal break. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, and do short workouts at your desk or work station.
Try mindfulness: Mindful practices can help manage stress. Mindfulness-based stress reduction has been well studied and shown to reduce the effects of stress on physical and mental health. Even 5 minutes a day of intentional mindfulness can improve your health.
Schedule relationship time: Humans are social creatures. Healthy relationships support our own mental health. How do you find time for relationships when you’re working multiple jobs? Use the strategies we’ve talked about, such as flexible scheduling, and make time to eat well, exercise, rest, and spend quality time with family, partners, and friends. Part of prioritizing this time is setting realistic expectations for the chores and errands you expect to do on days off. There are only so many hours in a day and you will be better able to manage your busy life if you learn to budget your time the same way as you budget money.
If you have a disability or chronic illness: The Alberta Human Rights Commission guarantees your right to have your special needs accommodated “up to the point of undue hardship” by your employer. If working multiple jobs is affecting your health, ask your employer about scheduling your work around your medical needs. For example, if you have Crohn’s disease or colitis, mornings may be difficult for you. Perhaps you could set your hours from noon to 8 p.m., or maybe you could do your work remotely in the mornings. This may even help your co-workers by encouraging your employer to consider the broader benefits of flexible scheduling.
Supports for Newcomers: Newcomers may need special supports. As well as working multiple jobs, newcomers may have been professionals in their home country who are now working multiple low-paid jobs. They may be struggling with language barriers, feeling homesick and missing loved ones. 211 Alberta is a key resource to find nearby community, social, health, and government services. You can text, call, or chat online by dialling 211. Calls are answered 24/7.
Recognize and manage burnout
You may be burning out if sleep no longer feels restorative, you feel annoyed with friends, co-workers, your partner, or your kids, or you find it hard to focus. This is the time to recognize that your workload has become unsustainable and explore other options.
Can you leave 1 job or reduce your hours to part time? Can you find work with an employer who’s open to flexible work hours? Can you change some of the work you’re doing to give your brain a break from the monotony of doing the same thing over and over? Whatever your reasons for working multiple jobs, nothing is more important to you and your loved ones than your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.