US workers make ends meet by ‘polyworking’
NEW YORK—As workers face frozen salaries, inflation and fear of layoffs, some have decided to branch out from their traditional careers. They’re taking on side jobs—adding second, third and sometimes fourth jobs, or what some call “polyworking”—to bring in additional income and provide a backup plan.
Katelyn Cusick, 29, beautifies displays as a full-time visual merchandiser for Patagonia. Then she works a side gig managing influencers for a German shoe brand for 10 to 15 hours a week.
She also has an Etsy shop where she sells paintings, and ushers at concerts in the San Francisco Bay Area—her way to also see live shows for free.
“Every day is different and every day feels like a new day,” Cusick said. “That is ultimately why I started doing all these side hustles, just because I wanted to switch it up. I don’t want to just do the same thing every day.”
Gig work on apps
Some are drawn to side jobs because of workplace instability or the fear they may lose their income. Still others, reluctant to trust one employer to provide a steady job, supplement their main roles with gig work on apps such as Uber and Grubhub.
“We have seen stagnant salaries, we’ve seen inflation, we’ve seen the cost of living overall increasing, even beyond our inflation measures,” said Alexandrea Ravenelle, sociologist and gig economy researcher at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “So people are looking for ways to supplement and build themselves a little bit of a safety net.”
Some create “portfolio careers” by working a variety of jobs—each developing different skills. In Cusick’s case, side work keeps her social media marketing skills current.
“Rather than having one job that you can have for many, many years and thinking about your career progression as a linear pathway, some people are putting together multiple side hustles based on their skills and interests and making the money work by having multiple revenue streams,” said Elaine Chen, director of the Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts University.
Career experts and those with side jobs share tips on how to get started and what to avoid if you’re considering branching out from your 9-to-5.
Follow a passion
If you’re embarking on a side business, consider picking something you’re naturally interested in, since you’ll spend a lot of free time on the venture.
“You have to love it,” Chen said. “Usually it is something the person is really passionate about.”
For Josie White, 31, that passion was mental health. After struggling with schizoaffective disorder and finding treatment, she wanted to help others with similar challenges feel less alone.
While working full-time as a fundraiser for nonprofit Shelter the Homeless in Salt Lake City, she decided to pursue public speaking on the side and began looking for opportunities to address groups and conferences where she could share her experiences with mental illness “to reassure people that there is hope and light at the end of the tunnel.”
White began as an unpaid volunteer, then landed some gigs training nonprofit staff and speaking about fundraising, which wasn’t her original goal, but those opportunities helped her gain experience.
Over the past year she’s booked 10 speaking engagements and reinvested the money she earned into developing her speaking skills.
“The goal is ultimately to get paid, but right now I’m putting in the legwork to reach that,” White said. “It’s starting to snowball.”
Know the risks
Some side jobs, such as gig work delivering groceries or driving passengers, may generate income right away.
Tom Ritter, 39, of Syracuse, New York, supplemented his income as a workforce management specialist by making deliveries for Instacart and Spark, Walmart’s delivery platform. The side work helped him pay bills, especially when he recently lost his day job.
Ravenelle cautioned against relying too heavily on gig work, as it can be hard to transition back to full-time, permanent jobs, where workers typically wait two weeks or more for a first paycheck. Gig work also carries a stigma among some employers, she said.
Be skeptical
People should be cautious if an online opportunity for a side job seems too good to be true. Some online influencers promote business ideas that are more akin to scams.
In Ravanelle’s research she’s spoken with people who saw online videos about making money selling microgreens.
“They thought they could make thousands of dollars a month, working from home, growing microgreens in their kitchen, and then selling them to high-end restaurants,” she said. “No. The person who sells you the grow lights and gives you the classes is the person who’s making the money.”
