Working 6-7 days a week?

TELLIT01

SecondStar said:

TELLIT01 said:

Don't forget that you will need to get permission from management where you are working for the Civil Service before you take on a second job.  On the basic question, I would start by working one additional day as you do still need downtime.

Appreciate the input, thank you!

Yes I’d speak with my manager, but given how many other people in our department also have second retail, hospitality, or self-employed jobs, I can’t see that being a problem.

1 day might be more realistic, and would still bring in an extra couple of hundred a month.

Retail shouldn't be an issue, but hospitality can be.  A colleague of mine was refused permission to do bar work on a Sunday because there was the chance of a very late finish.  It was felt that they may not be able to get sufficient sleep to be fully productive on the Monday morning.

MalMonroe

Hi, I just wanted to pop in to say that if you are young with no children and not many responsibilities, then go for it. 
However, when I was a single parent I was working full time - which for me was 35 hours per week in higher education. I couldn't have done any more than that because I wanted to spend weekends with my child and also, there's such a lot to do when you are a single person trying to keep a home together, do all the domestic stuff, have fun with your family and generally live. Working any more than that would have been really exhausting. 

Working long hours is great in the short term, I think but you really do want to have some fun, too. There's more to life than money.

I think (call me daft) that £100 left over after everything is paid is really good. It might not seem like much but it's a small cushion. At one time, I had about £20. And that's with a child to entertain. 

Working for the civil service can be such a great job, you can rise up the ranks (my brother and sis in law did) and end up earning good money and (dare I say it) enjoying what you do. And also transfer from department to department and also, even, transfer to different parts of the country.

I almost forgot to say that I'm sorry you're thinking of splitting up with your partner because that is bound to have some emotional impact, even if it's what you feel you need right now. A lot of change at once isn't good for anyone, either so I'd say tread carefully. Throwing yourself into too much, initially, might be stressful. (Just something to think about.)

These are obviously just my own thoughts, generally I think your future looks bright!  All the best. 

Sncjw

You say your job is mentally taxing is this causing issues in your relationship as your not sure if you want leave them. Life might be harder when you leave them as you need to do everything in your life yourself and not have the chores on a shared basis. 
Also if you say your job is mentally taxing down you need the two days off to try and refresh your self and if your working these two days you might be affected both physically and mentally. You will be to get all your chores done in a even limited time and they won't be shared which can drain you further. Also you won't have much time to prepare the new working week.you will be risk of burning out and affecting the main job you have. 

Have a look into your relationship and what is affected and what's caused this..sounds like you don't want to leave them really.

SecondStar

Jude57 said:

Like others I've worked 38 hours at my full-time job and evenings or weekends to top up income. I found working evenings somehow easier than doing a full Saturday or Sunday. As to personal admin. or a social life, I was too exhausted to do either after a while! You're in a better position because with hybrid working you at least have a couple of days without a commute. And of course, factor in the commute/ expenses of any second job. 

As far as your relationship is concerned, of course only you can decide whether to stay or go. Perhaps think about what it would take to make you stay and think about whether that's going to happen. If it would take a major change, is it realistically EVER going to happen?

If you decide to leave, you could think about a flat or house share, which is likely to be somewhat cheaper than a flat by yourself. Or think about a two bedroomed flat where you could have a lodger (with the landlord's permission) to help with costs. If you decide to do this, have a look at the Buying, Selling and Renting board here for advice on how to avoid any pitfalls. 

If you do end up working 6 days a week, I'd put a limit on it, say, a year at most. It's my experience that we can all push ourselves to do things we'd really rather not have to do if there's an end in sight. For you, that end could be building a savings pot, completing the training or gaining the experience you need to get that promotion. If, after a year, you're happy doing 6 days or whatever, then of course continue if you like, but just having an end date worked for me.

Thank you for sharing your experience!

I think putting a time limit, or an end goal, on it is a really good idea. Makes it seem like less of a Thing I’ll need to do all my life, and more like a means to an end, in a crappy situation.

In my current role, I’m able to do a fair amount of housework during my beaks on the days that I wfh, which is useful. I am hoping for a pay increase and/or promotion within the next 12 months though, which should help when considering a close-ended part-time position.

SecondStar

stinky_daddy said:

Adding my tuppence for what it's worth.

I work Mon - Fri in an office environment (37.5hrs)
I also work both days on a weekend (24 hrs), with the benefit of having unplanned days off with only giving them a short notice (if possible I try to give them at least 2 weeks' notice of me being unavailable, however, this isn't always possible, if it is illness or something that happens fairly quickly, such as a problem with the family).

So total time worked is 61.5 hrs (this obviously doesn't factor in travel time although it is no more than 15mins each way from my main job and about 5mins from my second job).

I have plenty of downtime in the week evenings as I start / finish early during the week, so plenty of time to decompress.

As long, as you are prepared to forego the weekends (as going out on a Saturday night when you know you have a shift on the Sunday is not appealing (certainly not to me anyway)) so generally, I get in on a Saturday after the shift, eat and then unwind for a few hours and then go to bed as I have to get up early for the Sunday shift - it might well be different for you of course.

s_d

Thank you for sharing, it’s so useful to get other insights.

I’m not really one for nights out, so that’s not so much of a consideration. There is rumours of a swap to 3 days wfh, and 2 in the office, but nothing confirmed yet.

If I really tried, I could get up at 6:00, catch the train at 7:10, and be in the office at 7:45, to leave at 15:45 and be home around 16:45 - would give me more downtime in the evening, but I do struggle with getting up! The hour long commute from door-to-door is a real stinker.

24 hours is a long time to work weekends, on top of a full time contract. Do you find you have enough time for life admin, and fun things?

SecondStar

MalMonroe said:

Hi, I just wanted to pop in to say that if you are young with no children and not many responsibilities, then go for it. 
However, when I was a single parent I was working full time - which for me was 35 hours per week in higher education. I couldn't have done any more than that because I wanted to spend weekends with my child and also, there's such a lot to do when you are a single person trying to keep a home together, do all the domestic stuff, have fun with your family and generally live. Working any more than that would have been really exhausting. 

Working long hours is great in the short term, I think but you really do want to have some fun, too. There's more to life than money.

I think (call me daft) that £100 left over after everything is paid is really good. It might not seem like much but it's a small cushion. At one time, I had about £20. And that's with a child to entertain. 

Working for the civil service can be such a great job, you can rise up the ranks (my brother and sis in law did) and end up earning good money and (dare I say it) enjoying what you do. And also transfer from department to department and also, even, transfer to different parts of the country.

I almost forgot to say that I'm sorry you're thinking of splitting up with your partner because that is bound to have some emotional impact, even if it's what you feel you need right now. A lot of change at once isn't good for anyone, either so I'd say tread carefully. Throwing yourself into too much, initially, might be stressful. (Just something to think about.)

These are obviously just my own thoughts, generally I think your future looks bright!  All the best. 

Thank you, truly.

I’m 31, no kids, but have a pair of expensive, senior pets, which are the greatest blessing in my life, and the root of my unbalanced Income/Outgoings! Their medications alone is currently 14% of my single income.

Having <£100 left each month absolutely terrifies me, because housing and money are my security blankets, and safety nets. They are the very bottom step of my hierarchy of needs, and if I don’t feel secure in these, then I can’t feel secure in other aspects of my life. I know there are many souls out there for whom £100 a month after bills and essential expenses would be luxury, but it’s too close to the line for me.

There is indeed more to life than money, but right now I’m in a position where the money needs to be present, in order for anything else to stand a chance!

I do really enjoy my current job, and I thank my lucky stars I ended up here. I’m currently the very lowest rung in the department, and so I’m hoping to move onwards and upwards within the next year at least.

Change all at once isn’t always good. I honestly don’t know if I want to split up, or if I want to try and work on it first. Thankfully, I have a very good therapist who is helping me work on that aspect!

SecondStar

Sncjw said:

You say your job is mentally taxing is this causing issues in your relationship as your not sure if you want leave them. Life might be harder when you leave them as you need to do everything in your life yourself and not have the chores on a shared basis. 
Also if you say your job is mentally taxing down you need the two days off to try and refresh your self and if your working these two days you might be affected both physically and mentally. You will be to get all your chores done in a even limited time and they won't be shared which can drain you further. Also you won't have much time to prepare the new working week.you will be risk of burning out and affecting the main job you have. 

Have a look into your relationship and what is affected and what's caused this..sounds like you don't want to leave them really.

My job isn’t the thing causing problems - it’s actually been a tonic to have something else that requires focus and brain power, so I’m not always thinking about problems at home.

I already do 90% of the chores and household management, despite working the same hours as my partner, plus my commute time. I also carry the mental load of knowing I do 90% of the chores.

I don’t know if I want to leave - I do still love him. I just wish he treated me better. But those are conversations for my therapist.

I absolutely want to stay committed to my main job. I’m hoping that I can find a low-stress retail position, where I know the ropes and it’s the type of job I’ve done for many years before, so I can just clock in, do my work, and clock out again. 

elsien

I wouldn’t work more than one day at the weekend, and even then only if I really had to for financial reasons. 

I need the break from what I do, and I’m always doing cleaning and life admin stuff at weekends as well as a bit of social time. 

It may work for others, but it wouldn’t work for me

SecondStar

elsien said:

I wouldn’t work more than one day at the weekend, and even then only if I really had to for financial reasons. 

I need the break from what I do, and I’m always doing cleaning and life admin stuff at weekends as well as a bit of social time. 

It may work for others, but it wouldn’t work for me

Thank you, it’s useful to get a range of perspectives.

Working 6-7 days a week definitely wouldn’t be because I have a great love for working!

After some deliberation, I think I’ve decided that it would only be for a fixed length of time (maybe 6-12 months), or until I’m able to get a pay rise or promotion within my main employment.

I’m just in an awkward position where I don’t want to feel stuck in a relationship, because I can’t afford to live by myself. I would far rather have the option of being self-supporting, so that I’m making more informed choices.

This is all jumping the gun anyway - I’ve only applied for 1 weekend job so far!

Brie

If you are young(ish) and fit chances are it won't be an issue.  I've known lots of people that worked full time in an office and then bar work over the weekend or evenings during the week at times.  The common comment is that as the jobs are different it's not like working a huge amount of hours.  And things like bars/retail can be very social compared to a lot of office jobs.

When I was younger (and fitter) I had a full time job that might include weekend work but managed to get a weekend job in a nearby town which I did every other weekend.  So one week I'd work M - Thurs at the main job and then go off on Friday to the weekend job returning home late Sunday.  Next week I'd work M - F at the main job and have the weekend off normally, but not always.  It was fine and definitely helped pay the bills.