For years, a niche group of remote workers—known as the “overemployed”—quietly thrived by holding down two full-time jobs without their employers knowing. Fueled by the flexibility of the pandemic-era work-from-home boom, these multitaskers raked in double incomes while dodging the 9-to-5 grind in plain sight. But as of February 2025, the game is getting tougher. Return-to-office (RTO) mandates and relocation demands are unraveling their carefully balanced setups, exposing the risks of this clandestine hustle.
Take Sarah, a 34-year-old tech worker who asked to stay anonymous. She landed her second remote gig in 2022, managing software projects for two companies unaware of each other. “It was seamless—different time zones, minimal meetings,” she says. By 2024, she was pulling in $220,000 a year, nearly double her single-job salary. But late last year, one employer announced a hybrid RTO policy, requiring three days in the office starting March 2025. Days later, the other demanded a cross-country move to its headquarters. Suddenly, her secret double life was on a collision course.
The over-employed community, once buzzing on forums like Reddit’s r/overemployed, is feeling the squeeze. A 2024 survey by ResumeBuilder found that 12% of remote workers admitted to holding multiple jobs, but half said RTO policies made it “significantly harder” to keep up. Employers, burned by quiet quitting, are cracking down with stricter oversight—think mandatory webcam check-ins and overlapping meeting schedules. For those caught, the fallout can mean instant termination or even legal headaches if contracts prohibit outside work.
Relocation adds another layer of chaos. “I can’t be in two cities at once,” says Mark, a 41-year-old overemployed marketer facing dueling ultimatums: one job wants him in Chicago, the other in Austin. He’s stalling both, but the clock’s ticking. Moving for one risks losing the other—or blowing his cover entirely. Some, like Sarah, are pivoting to part-time freelancing to plug the gap, but it’s a pay cut from the glory days.
The over-employed thrived in a remote-work sweet spot that’s fading fast. Companies, eager to reclaim control post-pandemic, are betting on in-person presence to boost collaboration and loyalty. Yet for these covert multitaskers, the shift isn’t just inconvenient—it’s existential. “I thought I’d cracked the system,” Sarah admits. “Now I’m just trying to not get caught.” As RTO and relocation reshape work in 2025, the era of secretly doubling up may be nearing its end.