If so, you probably resonate with the 58% who experience financial stressors. In order to move closer toward financial security, you may find avenues to create a secondary income source. A third or fourth one may be necessary too. A majority (87%) of people polled have had to pick up at least one side job within the past six months, according to a survey by ResumeNow.
“Better financial well-being greatly influences our overall well-being including mood, job satisfaction, and family relationships,” says Heather O’Neill, career expert at ResumeNow.
The U.S.-based 1,100-person survey explores the most common money-related stressors and challenges facing American workers today.
More of what the report breaks down:
- 65% believe they would run out of money within six months at most if they used their emergency savings and maintained their current lifestyle
- 41% are actively looking for a new job with higher salary in their field
- 40% tried to negotiate a higher salary with their current employer
- 35% are actively looking for a new job in a different field
- 33% used their emergency savings
Last year, roughly 4.8% of the entire U.S. workforce held a second job and by July, 438,000 workers had two full-time jobs. That translates to .27% of the total working population of 163,500,000 that year. Historically, this was a low point since 2000.
Yet, according to future of work consultant Gleb Tsipursky, on average, those employed in knowledge economy jobs work just 36% to 39% of the time that they’re in the office. The rest is spent making nonwork calls, scrolling through social media sites, and looking for—or perhaps working on—other jobs.
Perhaps it’s because wages have not risen in proportion to inflation, especially over the past year. The survey found that just over a third of respondents (37%) said they could shell out $400 for an unexpected expense and more than half (58%) couldn’t afford to buy a new pair of shoes today.
“Our connection with money is a lifelong partnership,” says O’Neill, and the truth is, our fears cause “higher levels of psychological distress.”
