Polyworking is increasingly in vogue

The extraordinary rise of working from home was one of the main and most discussed indirect consequences of the pandemic. Years later, the increasing adoption of remote working by companies has generated new opportunities for workers. For instance, it is not uncommon to hear about employees working remotely—especially in the fields of digital and creativity—who take on another job in addition to their primary occupation. In the United States, a term has even been coined to define this professional condition: “poliworking.” Since 2019, online search volumes related to this practice have increased significantly, and although the phenomenon has mainly emerged in English-speaking countries—particularly within major cities—“it is not difficult to imagine a similar situation in Europe”, writes Wired Italia. “The two economies are closely linked,” explains the magazine, “and the developments regarding remote working and the rising cost of living place many people in similar conditions.”

Although many have returned to the office, remote working continues to be widely utilized by businesses, especially among larger and more structured companies. Indeed, the rise of remote work has, in many cases, allowed for a rethinking of organizational structures, making them more flexible and less rigid: in the most successful cases, today, individual employees can choose how to manage their time and work mainly towards goals. Companies have also seized the opportunity to cut costs associated with physical locations; moreover, providing workers with some organizational flexibility can help reduce certain phenomena of disengagement and demotivation at work, which are increasingly common. By independently managing tasks and deadlines, and avoiding direct supervision by managers, many professionals have begun to experiment with poliworking. However, it is important to note that this trend includes not only freelance workers, who are naturally more inclined to have multiple clients, but also, and especially, company employees. According to a survey from last year by the American company Paychex, specialized in human resources, of a sample of one thousand US workers, 40% report having multiple jobs simultaneously—and among them, 70% are employees at a company. The study also reveals that Gen Z professionals are the most inclined to experiment with poliworking. Additionally, this category includes more men than women—57% compared to 43.

Why People Opt for Poliworking

Typically, the sector of employment for individual poliworkers remains broadly the same, so performing a task for one’s own company or for an external client is generally similar in terms of effort and skills required. However, the benefits can be numerous. The motivations driving people to experiment with poliworking are largely economic: it is indeed a way to “supplement” one's salary without necessarily allowing the second job to take up more time than needed. Another positive aspect of poliworking is that it helps fill downtime between projects, which are common in remote work.

If not carefully managed, the more blurred timings typical of remote working—where personal and professional life often blend—can generate stress and frustration in some workers. Adding another role to one’s primary job, however, can provide a more consistent and defined workflow, almost as if one were in an office. For those in creative fields, poliworking can also be a creative outlet: it allows for pursuing personal projects that might be more exciting than those usually undertaken—selecting projects in advance that might not always be possible in the workplace. On the other hand, it is essential to carefully balance the number of projects one is handling—as there is a risk of accumulating too many tasks and having deadlines overlap, with direct consequences on one’s main job. Typically, those employed by a private company do not face restrictions on undertaking another parallel freelance activity, provided there are no explicit and justified clauses in the employment contract. However, it is crucial to adhere to non-compete agreements, which prohibit employees from engaging in activities that compete with their employer. Public sector workers, on the other hand, are bound by exclusivity obligations.