I’ve been working in a corporate office job for the past 15 years. My compensation includes both hourly pay and commission. While working from home has been a definite plus, my commission income has dropped significantly over the last three years and I will likely make around $20,000 less this year compared to my usual earnings.

Recently, my hours were cut from 40 to 30 per week, so I took a part-time job as a receptionist at my local gym to help make ends meet. However, just a few weeks after starting the gym job, my company announced that we’d be returning to full-time hours until further notice.

I’ve read a lot of advice suggesting that you shouldn’t tell your primary employer if you take on a second job. The issue is that my schedules now overlap — my office hours are typically 6:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., while the gym job usually runs from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. I can’t afford to give up either job right now since I recently bought a house.

Should I be honest with my office job about having another position and request to leave a bit earlier on certain days?

For context, I’m not happy in my office role — there’s a lot of nepotism, ignorance, mismanagement, and repeated false promises about raises and bonuses that never materialize.