Riddled with debt, a 42-year-old civil servant had to work full time at McDonald’s in addition to her regular job to keep her head above water. And she is not the only one in this situation, as more and more Quebecers are taking a second job to try to make ends meet.
“I didn’t want to dig my grave even more, so I went there… and then it was just a two-minute drive from my house,” confides Emilie Gaumond on the phone.
Five years ago, she bought a house on her own, “no spouse, no parental help and all,” but the costs of maintenance quickly caught up with her and she found herself struggling with a debt of around $20,000.
“I am pitched in there, not knowing how expensive it was to have a house on your own. My salary could not cover everyday life, plus a crack in the foundation,” she explains.
15 hours of work per day
Certain of easily finding a second job due to the labor shortage, Emilie began distributing her resume left and right, but to no avail. “When you say that you already have a job and that you want to work evenings and weekends, people are not so open to that, they tell themselves that they will be the first to be flushed“, remembers the civil servant.
In February 2023, she finally managed to get hired somewhere, at the McDonald’s in Repentigny. “That gave me seven and a half hours during the day at my regular job, then seven and a half more hours in the evening. I would get home around midnight, then take a shower before sleeping for a few hours, and starting again.”
It took ten months, but his debts are now completely erased. “I earned $18,000 with my second job, and I managed to make up the difference,” rejoices the civil servant.
– But what do we do, Emilie, when we don’t work fifteen hours a day?
– I have an old, old dog at home, she laughs. He lives at his pace, not mine, and I want to spend time with him while he’s still here.
Tendency
Emilie Gaumond’s situation is symptomatic of the fact that the “ordinary” working day, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., is no longer the norm for many people around the world.
In Quebec alone, 15% of people say they had extra income in the last year, compared to only 13% in 2022, according to a recent Angus Reid survey conducted on behalf of H&R Block.
And everything suggests that this proportion will increase further, because 12% of Quebecers plan to do the same to get through the current economic turbulence.
The reasons behind them are almost too obvious to state: the rising cost of living makes it difficult to afford everyday expenses, to the point that 24% of people struggle to pay their bills, according to the same probe.
“Seeing your finances go into the negative is anxiety-inducing,” says Emilie Gaumond. “I worked to get by, but for ten months, work was my whole life, and everyone just talked to me about it. It’s a way of life that can last for a while, but it can’t last forever. At some point, it’s necessary to slow down.”
They have two jobs…and secrets
- Some 26% of Quebecers who had additional income in the last year did not inform their main employer.
- Some 27% do not intend to declare this income for tax.
Source: Angus Reid survey conducted on behalf of H&R Block