Young Aussies hit back at 'lazy' Boomer claim with 'concerning' new working trend

A startling number of young Aussie workers are juggling two full-time jobs to make ends meet and give them enough cash to get onto the property ladder. The country's youngest pool of workers has long been called "lazy", "entitled" and "slackers" by their older counterparts but new figures show how hard they're actually grafting.

Job site Indeed has revealed one in every six Gen Z workers and one in seven Millennials are managing to work around 80 hours a week across two separate jobs. When all other workers are included in the figures, around one in 10 working Aussies are doing two full-time gigs.

Those pulling in the extra hours said the additional salary is vital to keep up with the cost of living and save for a future property.

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The Australian Bureau of Statistics recently reported that almost one million Aussies had taken on a second job. The trend has been coined as "overemployed" and comes in many different forms.

You've got your hustlers and then you've got your hustlers.

Samantha is working a regular banking job during the week and then has her Saturdays and Sundays jam-packed with nearly 20 hours of a casual job. She's trying to save up $300,000 for a house deposit without her parents' help.

Are you working two full-time jobs? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com

She's one of many who are squeezing in as much work time as possible across the seven days of the week without any overlap.

They might do a regular nine-to-five and then a night shift somewhere else that could rack up dozens of hours a week.

If you thought that was impressive...

The hustlers are the ones who have managed to get two full-time jobs that are running on the same day and roughly with the same hours.

Indeed said 93 per cent of white-collar workers with multiple full-time jobs do their side gig on their primary employer’s time, with 65 per cent doing it regularly.

While they will be able to enjoy a much healthier salary, it's not without its downsides.

"It's concerning to see so many workers borrowing time from primary employers to manage second jobs, as this is very obviously going to have a significant effect on business performance and workplace dynamics," Sally McKibbin, a career expert at Indeed, said.

She said young Aussies are feeling pressured to take on extra hours because "living costs and property prices continue to outpace earnings".

How are they holding down two jobs at the same time?

Doing one job well is hard enough for most people. Making sure you attend meetings, maybe a bit of office time, completing deliverables; they all take up a lot of time.

So how are these young workers managing to do this twice?

An overwhelming number (nine in 10 respondents) said artificial intelligence has been the game-changing factor in being able to juggle two full-time gigs.

"The use of AI to manage multiple jobs highlights how technology is reshaping the workforce," McKibbin said. "However, the toll on workers' mental and physical health cannot be ignored.

"Balancing two full-time jobs — regardless of technology efficiencies — is pushing many to their limits."

Thankfully, most of these overemployed workers aren't operating in secret.

Nearly 80 per cent have told their boss about their side gig and a further 12 per cent said they planned on telling their manager soon.

They said they would only give up their second role if they could earn at least $51,500 more in their main job.

How to avoid being stung at tax time if you have two jobs

If you manage to have more than one job then you'll likely only be claiming the tax-free threshold for your primary role.

The tax-free threshold is the set amount of income that is not taxable. Currently set at $18,200, no taxpayer is meant to pay a cent of tax on this portion of income.

However, the salary from the second role would get taxed from the first cent you earn.

While this means you will be charged tax at a higher rate, it minimises the chance you’ll end up with a tax debt at the end of the financial year.

The Australian Taxation Office said it's important to advise your other payers that you won’t be claiming the tax free threshold if you have that second gig.

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