Having a bread and butter job and another that is more like what really interests us is becoming quite common. Overview of these slashers who fuel themselves on dreams.
“I often joke that I work three shifts a day: my daytime office job, my job as a mom in the evening and my job as an entrepreneur at night,” says Jacinthe, an office assistant trying to break into self-employment in the field of communications. She is not the only one piling on long hours of work – accumulating several jobs is becoming more and more popular among young people in search of meaning.
Having multiple jobs: Warning, Danger?
What are the risks of do this? One thing is certain, there is no law preventing a worker from holding down several jobs. Although most career consultants recommend being transparent with the primary employer, nothing obliges an employee to disclose all his or her activities outside work hours. Be careful, however, loyalty is essential, because disloyal competition can lead to more serious problems.
Until the second job becomes the primary source of income, judgement is needed, based on priorities. Be careful as well not to allow this job to affect work performance or be a distraction – the bread and butter job is necessary for the time being to be able to live your dreams! Finally, the last risk but not the least, is that of overwork. With time, long days and accumulating stress can indeed be harmful to mental and physical health.
For many people, however, living at this frantic pace can be exhausting, although still stimulating. “Yes, I am tired when I do montages until late at night and have to get up the next morning to go to the office, but these are my favourite times in my day,” says Alexander, a computer engineer by day and photographer in his spare time. “I would not change my lifestyle for anything in the world.” The same is true for Jacinthe, who sees light at the end of the tunnel. “It’s been over a year since I began the process of starting out on my own, and I hope to leave my day job by summer!,” she says.