After enduring waves of mass layoffs, paltry unemployment checks, and a tepid hiring environment, some tech pros are capitalizing on the rebounding job market by engaging in job stacking.
Job stacking is the practice of holding down multiple positions simultaneously, including full-time remote jobs, contract or freelance gigs, or combinations of both.
In fact, labor data shows that 8.55 million Americans hold multiple jobs. However, about 444,000 Americans work two full-time jobs at once, and the most proficient job stackers manage three or more full-time remote roles simultaneously, according to Rolf Haltza, founder and author behind the platform Jobstacking.com.
“Job stacking is the best work arrangement right now,” Haltza said. “Moreover, anyone can do it without working more than eight hours a day, as long as they develop the right mindset and apply the principles correctly.”
Is job stacking right for you? Here is what you need to know before you begin, followed by some tips for making your foray into job stacking a success.
Benefits, Risks and Drawbacks
Tech pros who stretch their capacity through multiple jobs gain rapid exposure to new technologies, contacts or specialties without missing a paycheck.
For example, since he began job stacking in 2018, Haltza has been able to pivot from software engineering to automation engineering and most recently to data engineering.
“If you find that a new specialty is not a good fit, maintaining a contract or full-time position in your former specialty makes it much easier to return to your previous field,” Haltza added.
Theoretically, job stacking also provides better income security because if you lose one job, your income does not drop to zero.
However, job stacking is not risk-free.
For instance, an employer may fire you if having multiple jobs violates a company policy, employment contract or simply the way they choose to define “full-time” status.
“To some employers, full-time status means a commitment of time,” explained Jeff Altman, an executive career coach known as “The Big Game Hunter.”
Under at-will employment, there’s the chance that both employers may fire you if they become aware of your dual employment.
“It comes down to how much risk you are willing to take,” Altman said.
Moreover, having multiple jobs can push your combined income into a higher tax bracket, noted Nader Mowlaee, career coach and founder of Engineer Your Mission.
“Doing double the work does not always double your income,” Mowlaee said.
Check with a financial advisor, because you may be better off financially working as a contractor through a staffing firm or forming an LLC, if you choose to job stack.
Finally, unless you pick the right jobs and shift the way you approach work, job stacking can lead to high stress, long hours and burnout.
Keys to Job Stacking Success
Follow these best practices to successfully stack multiple jobs simultaneously.
Choose the Right Jobs
Carefully evaluate and consider your manager’s expectations before taking on another job.
Many tech roles lack hard performance metrics, so whether or not you meet expectations often comes down to your boss’s subjective opinion, Haltza noted.
“A results-focused manager that values output over constant check-ins makes job stacking possible,” he added.
Avoid large, bureaucratic companies that exhibit low trust and high expectations during the hiring process or environments that utilize tracking tools, surveillance platforms or impromptu Slack huddles or online meeting check-ins to manage project teams.
“Pick jobs where you are evaluated on output, not input,” Mowlaee said.
Do not stack multiple roles that require heavy stakeholder interface, real-time oversight of networks, systems or security, or complex problem solving.
Instead, look for jobs focused on low-stress tasks and mid-size companies that offer flexible remote work environments.
Master One Role at A Time
Always master one job before adding another.
For instance, consider taking a week off from your primary full-time job when starting a second to see if you can streamline tasks and complete your required work in less than eight hours before committing at the end of the probationary period.
Keep in mind that using the same laptop for multiple jobs is risky, even for contractors. Using separate hardware eliminates the risk of mixing up codebases, documents or popping up the wrong file or email during a live screen share.
Shift Your Mindset
Shifting your mindset is by far the biggest key to succeeding with job stacking.
If you continue to see yourself as an overachiever or superhero, you will likely face severe mental and physical burnout.
Successful job stackers see themselves as highly skilled workers who trade time, effort and output for money. They do as much work as they need to, nothing more.
Don’t let the fear of meeting overlap hold you back, either.
“It rarely happens,” Haltza said.
“If your presence is really important, you will have control over when meeting is scheduled,” he noted. “If it’s just a routine all-hands meeting, keep your camera off, mute your microphone, and listen in while doing other things.”
Adopt New Work Practices
Changing a mindset also requires new work habits because thoughts alone cannot sustain behavioral change.
Examples include engaging in semi-active listening, rigid time blocking and something that Haltza calls “plausible reportability.”
Semi-active listening during online meetings involves making an occasional comment or nonverbal cue to signal you are still online while engaging in light multitasking.
Rather than expanding a task to fill the time available for its completion, a principle known as Parkinson's Law, assign a strict, short time block to a specific task, execute with intensity and stop when the clock runs out.
Plausible reportability means executing just enough tasks every day so you’re able to give your boss an impromptu status report at any moment.
Being able to provide your boss with an update is the key to maintaining trust, autonomy and avoiding micromanagement.
