Bay Area workers juggle survival and opportunity

"“There was a lot of talk about feeling overwhelmed and like you couldn't give your full attention to each job,” Collins said. “But then other people were saying, 'I don't want to be doing 9-to-5 work.' They like combining different things, using different skills. Or they could lose that main job at any time, so they have to have something to fall back on.”"

"“In her 2024 paper, The Semi-Proletarian Lifestyle in the Twenty-First Century, Collins examines the historical context of multiple jobholding and what she describes as 'having to do a lot of different things to survive.'”"

"“Since at least 1980 ... wages have stayed flat in a way that historically we haven't seen before,” Collins said. “They've risen, but they haven't risen much more than the rate of inflation.”"

"“Employers often offset labor costs by cutting hours and by hiring significantly more part-time workers or non-employed contracted workers, who they aren't required to pay employment taxes on. This reduces the cost of benefits, as large companies with over 50 employees are required to offer health cove”"

Small talk about work in the Bay Area often reveals multiple ways to earn money. Needing several income sources can affect life trajectory when people cannot commit to one path long enough to advance. Freelance work can also be constrained by a financially necessary day job. Security can mean a regulated schedule and consistent benefits, while others find stability in combining different jobs and skills. Multiple jobholding can be driven by the risk of losing a main job and the need for a fallback. Wage stagnation since at least 1980 has kept earnings from rising faster than inflation. Employers may reduce labor costs by cutting hours and increasing part-time or contracted workers, lowering benefit and tax obligations.

Read at East Bay Express | Oakland, Berkeley & Alameda