Murphy is an example of an overemployed person achieving financial goals that once seemed out of reach. In one conversation, a member is happy to get two paychecks on the same day, while others are happy to have the same expression on their face. In the second channel, called "2x-success-stories," members talk about how to pay off credit card debt, get a second job, and more.
Many of the victories aren't worth much. Proponents say the idea of working more is not just financially freeing, but also emotionally and professionally freeing. Members of the community are warned of red flag behavior from companies. The conversations point to growing disgruntlement with the idea that the workplace resembles a family, with members often citing their real families as the people they prefer above corporate loyalty. Many people think that jobs are nothing more than an exchange of services for pay until they are no longer beneficial.
The overemployed don't often seek meaning-making at work. Many people add junior jobs that allow them to complete their work without the responsibilities that come with more senior roles. Those seeking fulfillment from 9 to 5 are told to look elsewhere and resist the encroachment of businesses on their lives and encouraged to find meaning outside the constraints of employment.
Most people in the community work two jobs in order to avoid lifestyle inflation and save for their family goals. Many are satisfied to coast at work, not because they are eager to take advantage of corporations, but because they have already experienced the burn out that comes from overworking at a single job. In a thread where someone is considering resigning from one of their roles, another poster says, "Don't resign, just resign your mind."
The posters don't get attached to any of the jobs. A rejection of work as identity and an embrace of jobs as a means to an end is what it is. Most of them have an exit strategy that will see them pack it all in. A feeling of taking back power is provided by overemployment.
Murphy thinks that over employment is both ethical and common. She says that she and her family don't think of her mother working two jobs all the time as weird because she is a working class person. There is a sentiment that it is unethical to work multiple jobs. If you're getting your work done, it's not.
Murphy was worried that he would lose both roles in the midst of the Pandemic. When a human resources meeting came up on her work calendar, she was worried. She was afraid her secret would be revealed. She imagined that she was responsible for blowing up her life because she was trying to get ahead and save faster. The company was in the middle of layoffs and she was going to be let go after a number of years. Murphy had saved a lot of money. I was grateful that I had a second job.
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