Moonlighting and subjective wellbeing: Exploring the roles of quality time with children and time stress

Moonlighting (multiple job holding) has become increasingly prevalent, driven by both financial considerations-such as rising cost of living and income smoothing-and non-financial factors, including career development, human capital accumulation, and job satisfaction. Yet, the link between moonlighting and subjective wellbeing has received little attention. This study employed 22 waves of panel data extracted from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey to investigate the link between moonlighting and subjective wellbeing among Australians. We used a fixed effect-instrumental variable strategy to mitigate omitted variable bias and reverse causality issues. We found that moonlighting is associated with a decrease in subjective wellbeing by 2.431 (relative to an average wellbeing score of 7.92 out of 10). The negative association between moonlighting and subjective wellbeing was more pronounced among males, urban residents, high-income earners, and those living in high socioeconomic areas. Our analyses further showed that reduced quality time with children and increased time stress are likely pathways via which moonlighting is associated with subjective wellbeing, informing future initiatives to ameliorate the negative implications on individuals.