Goodbye Passion Project, Hello Side Hustle

For decades, side hustles were cool: books like 100 Side Hustles and So You Want to Start a Side Hustle and Find Your Hustle encouraged workers to step into their dream of producing artisanal maps or leading urban tours or scaling their homemade popsicles. Then the cost of living jumped by nearly 25% from 2021 to 2025, and those fun side projects took a back seat.

Today, over two-thirds of people with side hustles depend on them for financial security, a new survey shows. And it’s a kind of work that taxes and tires them, experts say, potentially affecting their ability to provide extra hustle for their full-time employers. “The concern is that side jobs limit employees’ work, and lessen their flexibility,” says HR expert Ron Porter, senior partner at Korn Ferry.

To be sure, picking up extra work to pay the bills is as old as capitalism itself. Though only 5.1% of workers officially hold multiple jobs, according to July 2025 Bureau of Labor and Statistics data, the number with unreported side business is believed to be substantially higher. Most companies enforce guidelines about second (and third) jobs, typically banning working for competitors and disallowing conflicts with the requirements of the primary job. The regulations can be more stringent for those in executive and leadership roles; some companies require that all outside jobs be disclosed to and approved by management. Yet the data indicates that firms are right to be concerned about workers spreading themselves too thin. In the survey, only 10% called their side hustle a “passion project,” and only 5% are skill building—meaning that rather than fulfilling their souls in their free time, which firms have previously endorsed, workers are scrambling to make an extra buck. The trend has been called an emergency, where supplemental income takes precedence.

Experts say that holding multiple jobs puts workers at a high risk of burn-out, and likely diminishes their ability to focus. An employee who spends the evenings driving for a car-share company might be unable to recover, mentally and physically, between work shifts—let alone get enough sleep and generally take care of themselves. “When people feel a side hustle is necessary to keep the lights on, their stress levels might make it difficult to maintain core responsibilities at your company,” says engagement expert Mark Royal, senior client partner at Korn Ferry. Royal notes that high side-hustle rates can also be an indicator of future turnover, because those employees will be keen to find a primary job that allows them to drop the second one.

The obvious—and most difficult—solution is for corporations to alleviate financial pressures, so that employees can focus on one job. Experts suggest double-checking whether employees with side hustles are reasonably compensated, both within their compensation bands and the broader market. This tends to have mixed results. “Managers may throw up their hands,” says Royal, and say that they cannot impact the corporate pay scale. Experts advise connecting side hustlers with all the financial resources the company has to offer, including financial-management support, employee-assistance programs, and education about company benefits like 401(k) matching. “Firms usually have resources to help people who are feeling a little lost around finances,” says Royal. 

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