oa Multi-jobbing als employability-strategie

Multi-jobbing as an employability-strategy

Employees who hold multiple jobs are no exception on the Dutch labour market. However, little is known about the motives behind ‘multi-jobbing’. This study addresses a qualitative exploration among twenty multi-jobbers of 45 years and older who recently made a transition from one job in paid employment to multiple jobs – either with multiple employers or in combination with self-employment. We examine whether multi-jobbing in a late career phase is a relevant alternative to regular job mobility which is far less common among older workers. We describe push and pull motives for making a transition toward multiple jobs that allow us to characterize multi-jobbing as either an ‘emergency situation’, ‘ideal situation’ or a ‘transition situation’. Furthermore, the multi-jobbers in this study were found to use their second job as a personal employability-strategy. We discuss multi-jobbing as late career labour market behaviour which averts the insecurities that come with job change.