'This is very obviously going to have a significant effect on business performance and workplace dynamics'
One in 10 employees are working multiple full-time jobs in Australia, but this comes at a great cost to productivity and wellbeing, according to a new report from Indeed.
The findings revealed that one in six Gen Zs and one in seven millennials are juggling more than 80 hours of work a week.
Nearly all respondents (93%) with multiple jobs admitted to working their extra job during their primary employer's shift, according to the report.
Sally McKibbin, Career Expert at Indeed, said it's "concerning" that many employees are borrowing time from their primary employers to manage second jobs.
"This is very obviously going to have a significant effect on business performance and workplace dynamics," McKibbin said in a statement.
Fay Calderone, partner in the employment and workplace relations practice at Hall & Wilcox, previously told HRD that working multiple jobs can also have legal repercussions especially those under "exclusive employment."
"If you sign up to a contract that requires exclusive employment, then it would be a breach of the contract to then obtain secondary employment," Calderone told HRD. "Quite often, those provisions say words to the effect that 'you won't have a second job without our approval.'"
Impact on wellbeing
Beyond the legal repercussions, handling multiple jobs also take a toll on employees' wellbeing, according to the report. At least three in four employees with an additional full-time job said it has taken a toll on their mental health (77%) and prevented them from looking after their physical health (75%).
More than eight in 10 also said it encroached on their work-life balance by preventing them from taking time off (86%) and preventing them from spending quality time with their family (82%).
"The toll on workers' mental and physical health cannot be ignored. Balancing two full-time jobs—regardless of technology efficiencies—is pushing many to their limits," McKibbin said.
Impact of AI
But the introduction of AI in workplaces appear to have greatly eased the burden on many multiple job holders, the report found.
According to the findings, 91% of the respondents said the key reason they can do multiple paid jobs is because of AI.
More than nine in 10 respondents said AI helps them perform their primary job (94%) and their additional jobs (92%). In fact, 91% of the respondents said they are so proficient with AI that they're considering of securing more additional paid jobs.
Reasons for additional jobs
McKibbin said holding multiple jobs is employees' response to the living costs and property prices continuing to outpace earnings.
For Gen Zs, 87% said they do so to save for a property, while 79% said to cover rising costs of groceries and other essential items. For Millennials, 66% are saving for a property and 57% want to be able to cover increasing costs of goods, according to the report.
"Purchasing power has not kept up with soaring property prices. For Gen Z and millennials, the journey to property ownership is proving challenging and unachievable for many without multiple income streams," she said.
