Publications
Publications
- 2025
- HBS Working Paper Series
The Hidden Costs of Working Multiple Jobs: Implications for Spending Behavior and Wellbeing
By: Paige Tsai and Ryan W. Buell
Abstract
Across three studies, combining survey data, transaction-level analysis from 90,548 customers of a nationwide retail
bank, and insights from the General Social Survey, we study whether people with multiple jobs spend their labor income differently than people who earn the same total income from a single job. Inclusive of housing spend, we find that individuals who are more reliant on multiple jobs spend 17.0 percentage points (p.p.) less of their labor income overall, which is driven by a 15.5 p.p. decrease in the share of income spent on necessities and a 1.9 p.p. decrease in the share of income spent on indulgences. Examining differences in spend by expenditure category reveals that peoples’ lived experiences differ meaningfully based on their income composition: individuals with multiple jobs spend meaningfully more on education and transportation, but notably less in all other key spending areas including
groceries, dining out, healthcare, entertainment, home improvement and shopping. Although it’s not possible in our
data to directly assess whether these spending differences drive differences in individual wellbeing, we observe that those who are reliant on multiple jobs spend meaningfully less in categories traditionally associated with enhanced physical and mental wellbeing, such as healthcare and food, and less on experiential categories traditionally associated with enhanced emotional wellbeing, such as travel and entertainment. These patterns converge with responses from the General Social Survey, in which equivalently-compensated individuals who rely on multiple jobs report lower general happiness and financial satisfaction than their single-income counterparts. These findings suggest that it’s not only the amount a person earns, but also the way they earn it, that links to variations in spending behavior and overall wellbeing, which offers significant insights for the design of sustainable work in operations.
Keywords
Behavioral Operations; Employee Behavior; Job Design and Levels; Personal Finance; Well-being; Happiness; Satisfaction; Wages
Citation
Tsai, Paige, and Ryan W. Buell. "The Hidden Costs of Working Multiple Jobs: Implications for Spending Behavior and Wellbeing." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-036, January 2025.