Juggling Multiple Jobs to Cope with Rising Expenses
Ashlin McCourt works 60 hours weekly across three roles—a civil servant, waitress, and baker—citing the high cost of living as the reason.
Despite UK unemployment reaching its highest level in nearly five years, a growing number of employed individuals are holding down multiple jobs.
While working several jobs or side hustles has long been a necessity for many households to manage living expenses, there is now a record 1.35 million adults in the UK working at least two jobs.
This trend, often referred to as "poly-employment," is primarily driven by Generation Z—adults aged up to 29—according to Deputy, a global workforce management platform that analyzed over 20 million shifts completed by more than 300,000 UK workers.
For 28-year-old Ashlin from Northern Ireland, having multiple jobs is a normal part of life.
"It's the older generation that I work with that cannot believe that I'll finish in the office and go and work a second job," she told BBC Radio 4's Money Box programme.
Outside of work, Ashlin shares her experiences managing multiple jobs on social media and is preparing for her wedding in five months. Her partner also holds two jobs.
"You don't even know you're tired, you don't even know you're stressed anymore, because that's your regular environment," Ashlin said.
Her primary employment is as a civil servant, with waitressing and baking fitted in before or after work or on days off.
"Mortgages aren't cheap, your standard of living isn't cheap," she explained. "You know you're not even going out once a month and you're having to really budget for that."
"We Hope It's Not Forever"
Twenty-seven-year-old Cait Yardy balances work in a supermarket, private tutoring, and social media content creation.
Her two-year-old daughter was born with a complex health condition, making a full-time return to work unfeasible.
Before parenthood, Cait worked part-time in retail while her fiancé worked full-time, but their combined income was insufficient.
"In order to pay off debt which we'd accumulated over my maternity leave and to, hopefully, be able to eventually start saving for a house, we realised that just those jobs weren't cutting it anymore," she said.
Cait's tutoring and social media roles allow her to work from home while caring for her daughter.
"We are hoping this is something that doesn't have to be forever," she added, expressing her intention to secure full-time employment once her daughter starts school.
Currently, managing three jobs impacts family time.
"I think probably the main challenges I have are being quite tired a lot of the time, especially with wanting to be a present mum and a present fiancée.
We obviously don't get a whole lot of time where all three of us are home together but it's worth it, it's what's best for our future and it's something that just has to happen at the moment," she said.
"Making Money Is a Priority"
Chloe Mayhew, 27, from Glasgow, divides her time among freelance graphic design, teaching drama and dance, and working in a care home.
"They're very, very different from each other, but it's all things that I really love and enjoy.
"But making money is always a priority," she added.
Her days can be long and demanding.
"It'll be like a 14-hour day for me, and I get home and first thing I do is get into bed and open up my laptop and start editing. So yeah, it's a crazy life."
For Chloe, juggling multiple jobs is a strategic move toward a long-term goal of securing a full-time, well-paid position in the creative industry before she turns 40.
"I think I'm taking the right steps just now to hopefully create that life," she said.
"It's the Stability"
Haylii, 22, from Essex, purchased her first fixer-upper home last year after saving for a deposit while working in hospitality since age 17.
Her income now comes from two jobs, with approximately 70% from social media content creation and 30% from hospitality, where she works 10-hour shifts three days a week.
"The shift patterns are horrible," she said.
She began creating content and influencing online two years ago. Although this now constitutes most of her income, she finds working from her phone can feel isolating and financially inconsistent.
"Hospitality, it gives me that social interaction," she explained. "It's just the stability of knowing that I'm going to get paid at the same like time every month and all my bills will be sorted."
Expert Perspective on Multiple Job Holding
Dr Paul Redmond, an expert on generational change and the future of work, commented on the trend.
"As long as a balance can be achieved, there are benefits to part-time working.
Part-time jobs are a great way to get work experience, to learn new skills and get an insight into a new industry."
However, he cautioned about potential risks.
"There's a risk young people could take on too much work, stretching themselves too thin and ultimately damaging their wellbeing."
