Coping with Underemployment

With 15 of the US states now suffering from double digit unemployment rates, a lot of focus has been on the labor markets and this headline number.  As the NYTimes and others have pointed out, the headline unemployment numbers mask the fact that millions of Americans are under-employed, that is working part time when they prefer to be full-time.  Including this number, one in five persons in California would like to be working full-time and is not.  There are certain challenges that come with underemployment, contract work, and self-employment, including obtaining affordable health insurance coverage, not qualifying for unemployment benefits, and not having full-time to seek employment given demands of the part-time work.  For about 3 years (2002-5), I was underemployed.  I worked approximately 20 paid hours per week on a consulting contract.  The income I was generating was helpful, but insufficient to cover bills, and although I found it easy to fill my days (that was even before blogging became very big), I found the continuation of underemployment difficult to deal with, even more than taking a block of time off.  Here were some things that were helpful:

–Try to maintain a very disciplined schedule– if you have the ability to structure your part-time work, create a weekly schedule that maximizes your output, both at the paying job, and during other times. I found 20 hours to be most effective by structuring 2 intensive days of work plus one half day.  This left two full week days when I was not consulting that allowed for errands, business meetings on week days to pursue other things and full work days to devote to free-lancing projects.

–Be realistic about budgetary pressures – the problem that I have observed most newly unemployed and underemployed people facing is that they were too optimistic at the outset about the ability to quickly find full time work.  Several friends did not cut back on spending when their cash income declined, and only thought of cutting back once their savings had dwindled to dangerously low levels.  It’s a lot easier to plan and think clearly when you have a buffer, so be proactive with this.  One thing to keep in mind, is that the undemployed have taken longer during this recession to find jobs, so be prepared.

–Seek out services and organizations that can help — such as Freelancer’s Union or other groups that are banding together to seek health insurance coverage for free-lancers and self-employed. Try to remain networked even though you are part-time.

–Keep up-to-date with the news and changes in your industry – when I interview candidates for jobs, I find too many who were part-time or consultants had not seen the importance of keeping up with developments in the industry.

--Adjust to a new normal — if working as a contractor or part-time is looking like the trend for your industry and affordable within your new budget, it may be best, from a mental health perspective to adjust to this new normal.  Constantly applying for full-time work, sending out resumes, and setting up interviews can be exhausting. Sometimes it’s best to take a break from these activities and instead to be productive in other ways with your time.

posted at this week’s Festival of Frugality