Tech Solutions

How to Be Overemployed With Textr Team

Written by Jason
January 18, 2024
10 Mins Read

The pandemic – combined with increased living costs – has led to a rise in the number of people being overemployed. Plenty of companies switched to remote customer service jobs in 2020, and most have kept these positions. For workers, this means easier access to employment because it opens up a wider job market.

 

In this article, we’ll look at what it means to be overemployed. We’ll also look at the kinds of jobs it suits the most, along with potential risks and how to deal with taxes.

What Does Overemployed Mean?

 

Simply put, being overemployed means working multiple jobs, typically remote ones. While working more than 1 job isn’t a new thing, the difference here is that people typically work more than 1 full-time job.

 

This is why remote customer service jobs work best for overemployment. Provided you can give each role enough attention, working 2 remote call center jobs from home is entirely possible.

 

There are plenty of resources online where you can learn more about what being overemployed looks like. For example, there’s a dedicated website and an overemployed Reddit group.

 

Ideally, you’d find several jobs that fit together well. For example, this could be jobs in the same industry or ones that operate at different times. This might involve remote call center jobs in the day and then some freelance work in the evening. We’ll discuss this in more detail below.

 

What Are the Potential Risks of Overemployment?

 

Although overemployment sounds like a great money-making venture, there are clearly some risks to consider. The main ones are:

 

Legality

 

Generally, it’s legal to work multiple jobs in the US. The United States uses at-will employment, which essentially boils down to a free employment market. It means workers can hold more than 1 job, but employers are equally able to fire someone without a justified reason.

 

Elsewhere in the world, these laws differ. For example, in Europe and Canada, employment laws are much stricter in terms of termination, but an employer could still fire you within a probation period without reason.

 

Working across different countries can be tricky due to differing employment laws. Your best bet would be to consult an employment lawyer if you plan to take on roles in several countries.

 

Non-Compete Clauses

 

Plenty of companies include non-compete clauses in their contracts, especially if they work with intellectual property. In short, a non-compete will typically forbid you from working for a competitor within a set period, such as 2-5 years.

 

Unsurprisingly, this applies to jobs worked at the same time, too. You might not have a problem with remote customer service jobs or call centers, but it can become an issue with things like IT, finance, and so on.

 

You won’t necessarily know about non-competes until you’re presented with a contract. Don’t sign a non-compete if you’re knowingly breaking it, as this can land you in legal trouble. Instead, you’ll just have to turn the job down. Non-competes aren’t something you want to mess with in overemployment, as they’re legally binding documents.

 

Morality

 

Is it morally right to be overemployed? That entirely depends on your outlook, but generally it’s fine. If it’s the difference between you having money and struggling to live, then go ahead and work several jobs. However, if you’re doing it to mess with companies by taking advantage of them, the morality becomes questionable.

 

One thing to consider is the company’s opinion of you working another job. This isn’t related to non-competes but rather about them thinking you’re not dedicating enough of your time. Generally, you won’t want to tell one company you’re getting another job. While this might not feel like the best moral stance, it’s a standard part of the overemployment industry.

 

That said, if you work for the US government, don’t become overemployed. The government does extensive background checks, and they’ll easily find out if you’re working multiple jobs. What’s more, the penalties could be criminal rather than civil, and you could be charged with anything from wire fraud and grand larceny to theft of public money.

What Are the Most Overemployed OE-Friendly Jobs?

 

Generally, any job that’s remote and project-based is suitable for overemployment. Project-based works means you have more autonomy, allowing you to handle multiple roles at the same time.

 

Some of the best OE-friendly roles include:

 

Data Analysis

 

Data analysis is one of those catch-all phrases that can mean many different things. However, it almost always boils down to gathering, organizing and storing information related to company processes. Unsurprisingly, this is perfect for overemployment because you’re often left alone to do the work. Plus, it’s a massively scalable job with lots of potential.

 

Customer Service

 

Remote customer service jobs are equally wide-ranging. It includes remote call center jobs, online chats, dealing with customer tickets, and more. Again, the skills are pretty transferable, making it easy to take on more than one job at once.

 

As one Redditor notes, the best way to handle several remote customer service jobs is to go for small companies. They have 2 jobs with SMBs and work about 30 hours a week.

 

While remote call center jobs are fine for overemployment, you’ll want to avoid ones with a lot of contact time. For example, a large company could expect you to take dozens of calls a day, which wouldn’t give you much time for your other job.

 

On the other hand, a smaller company might only have 5-10 customer calls a day. Better yet, they might only work online, giving you time to do another role simultaneously. At a bigger company, you can fly under the radar. However, at a smaller company, you’ll ideally have less work. It’s a difficult balancing act, but remote customer service jobs can be some of the most lucrative for overemployment.

 

Freelancing

 

Freelance work can be anything: writing, digital design, music production, etc. It essentially means not having a specific employment contract with one company but instead numerous contracts with clients. You can basically work for yourself and take on as much work as you want.

 

IT

 

While IT arguably requires more skills than other roles here, it’s a great industry for overemployment. The work could be anything from engineering and development to testing and quality assurance. Check out Overemployed’s 5 best jobs for some examples of IT roles.

 

Owning Multiple Businesses

 

This is a pretty straightforward one: own (or set up) multiple businesses that you can manage from home. It might include things like drop-shipping, crafting, managing websites, and more. Provided you can establish businesses with enough automation, you shouldn’t have much work to do.

 

Job Hunting Tips for Overemployment Work

 

So, how do you find the right jobs for overemployment? That seems to depend on who you ask, but some tips include:

 

·  Look for roles that don’t require much face time. This gives you more autonomy.

·  Avoid roles that seem like they’d be heavily monitored. Being active on Slack is fine, but screen recording and mouse tracking software won’t be your friend.

·  Similarly, startups will likely be a no-go. They require you to hold multiple roles, meaning more work.

·  Consider browsing the overemployment Reddit group, as you’ll find plenty of tips there.

·  While they’re meant to make the process easier, it’s best to avoid recruiters. They won’t appreciate you being overemployed.

·  It’s generally best to not tell companies about your other jobs. Instead, make up excuses for why you might miss them (Wi-Fi not working, phone didn’t ring, etc.).

 

You’ll want to spend some time checking out the market before settling on your jobs. This should help you to decide what you want and how to juggle multiple roles. With a bit of experience, you’ll know exactly what kind of jobs will work best for overemployment.

 

It’ll be worth checking out the Reddit group and Overemployment website. Both contain useful tips for job-hunting, and the Reddit has first-hand accounts with great advice on the sorts of roles that’ll work best, and how to juggle them. You might find there’s a bit more trial and error involved in overemployment work. But once you find the right balance, it’ll be completely worth it.

Tax Solutions for Overemployment

 

Taxes can become complicated when you’re overemployed. We recommend checking out the top 5 tax surprises when working multiple jobs. A lot of it boils down to paying more and losing various benefits depending on how much you earn. However, these shouldn’t come as massive surprises.

 

A lot of questions regarding overemployment taxes relate to filing W4s. Specifically, people are often concerned if HR and payroll will find out they’re working multiple jobs from looking at their W4 form. The short answer is that no one (apart from the IRS) cares about your taxes, and W4s relate to taxes. Provided you pay what you should, nothing else matters.

 

It'll help for you to file your W4 as either single of married but filing separately. If you put zero for everything but your earnings, you can then pay the difference at the end of each tax quarter, just as self-employed people do. Of course, taxes can be confusing at the best of times, so it’ll probably help to consult an accountant or tax attorney to get things right.

 

Taxes Across Multiple Countries

 

If you work jobs in different countries, taxes can become even more confusing, as you may have to pay in the other country too. Make sure you speak to an accountant because they should be able to tell you about the tax laws in other countries.

 

Self-Employed and Freelance Taxes

 

Self-employed workers in the US file other tax forms, such as 1099 and 1040. There are plenty of resources that explain the rules of self-employed taxes, which can apply to overemployed workers. Similarly, you’ll find useful information on the overemployed Reddit group, sometimes from tax professionals.

How to Use Textr Team to Work Multiple Jobs

 

Having more than one contact number can help with overemployment, as it allows you to keep work calls separate from each other. Similarly, if your jobs require multi-factor authentication, different numbers mean you can avoid getting them confused.

 

Textr Team is ideal for overemployment because you can set up several business phones in the same app, allowing you to switch quickly and easily as needed. What’s more, incoming calls and texts can be flagged as related to specific numbers, meaning you can know which job you’re dealing with.

 

Other jobs can benefit from Textr Team’s setup too, such as food deliveries, Airbnb, real estate agents, sales and more. These roles often require (or benefit from) a multi-line phone system. Textr Team lets you set one up in the same app, meaning you can have several professional phones for business.

 

Textr Team even allows you to get local phone number area codes, which is helpful for all kinds of roles. Better yet, you don’t even need to run to the mall or wait for a SIM card to be delivered. Textr’s phone numbers can be set up instantly.

 

You can add and remove phone numbers with a single click – no dealing with customer service or waiting for validation. That said, if something does go wrong, Textr’s customer service department is on hand 24/7 to help with any issues.

 

Another useful feature for overemployment is the ability to convert voicemails to text. If you’re busy dealing with one job and miss a call from another, simply turn it into a text and read it at your convenience. This can help improve productivity, which is exactly what you need when overemployed.

 

Getting Started with Textr Team

 

Textr Team is a virtual phone app suitable for all your business and employment needs. There’s a 7-day free trial with full access for calling and texting. After that, you pay $10 for each number, and a subscription for each is $10 a month. Minimum top up is $2, making Textr a cost-effective solution for multi-line business needs.

 

So, download the app today and get started searching for overemployment roles! Textr Team is available on Android, iOS, and web browsers.

About the Writer

Written by Jason

B2B marketing specialist with expertise in lead generation through text messaging. Unlock your business potential with his proven strategies.

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