The cost-of-living crisis forcing Australians to find more work to 'keep their head above water'
A third of Australians feel financially pressured to look for a second job this year, according to a new survey.
Finder's poll of 1,096 respondents in January revealed that 32% are feeling the pressure to find a second job.
By gender, the percentage of women feeling this pressure goes up to 41%, much higher than the 24% of men.
Younger employees are also more likely to look for another job, with 56% of Gen Zs and 40% of millennials admitting to this.
Rebecca Pike, money expert at Finder, said the findings indicate that many Australians have no option to take on a second job to "keep their ahead above water."
"The cost-of-living crisis means many are in financial strife and are finding it difficult to pay for rising insurance and energy bills," she said in a statement.
Australia's multiple job holders
There are over 970,000 people in Australia, or 6.7% of all employed people, who said they are juggling multiple jobs as of December 2023, the country's statistics bureau revealed.
Women and younger employees were also most likely to be working multiple jobs, according to the report.
Fay Calderone, a partner specialising in employment and workplace relations at Hall & Wilcox, previously attributed the case of multiple job holders to increased casualisation of the workforce, inflationary pressures, and the rising costs of living.
Managing employees with multiple jobs necessitates transparency and having appropriate documentation and frameworks in place, she said.
"If you have those policy frameworks and documents in place that require people to disclose or seek approval, then that's all lawful and reasonable direction," Calderone previously told HRD.
"When something does go wrong and someone's job is encroaching or they have done something that prejudices or impacts their primary role, then there's a very clear, lawful, and reasonable basis for the HR professional to discipline the employee — and may ultimately lead to the termination of the employment."
