Paula, a Colombian accountant’s assistant in Spain: “I work 25 hours a week and clean houses from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on my days off”

Paula Álvarez’s day off does not necessarily mean a day of rest. After moving from Colombia to Valencia, she combined a 25-hour-a-week job with house-cleaning work to bring in additional income.

The 24-year-old had worked as an accounting assistant before leaving her home country. She found her new part-time position online after preparing her résumé and applying to different job listings. The job normally runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., from Sunday through Sunday, with one day off each week.

Rather than giving up the private cleaning work she had already been doing, Álvarez kept it in her schedule. In one TikTok video, she showed a day that began with a cleaning appointment from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. After a break, she traveled to another home and worked there from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Her routine requires her to coordinate the hours of her main job, arrange private appointments, calculate travel time and use the gaps between activities. A day away from the part-time job can therefore become an opportunity to string together several cleaning assignments.

Álvarez also uses social media to talk about the difficulties of emigrating and beginning again in Spain. The combination of jobs has reshaped her daily life, with her available hours determining how many services she can accept and when she can carry them out.