I’m a millennial.
And, like most of my peers, I’ve had side-hustles throughout my professional career. I’ve even managed to turn that side-hustle into a full-time gig running an ecommerce marketing agency.
But not everyone is as happy about our moonlighting as we are.
“[It] depends on the seniority of employees and the nature of the side-hustle. If they are supporting their aging parents’ business or are a senior executive supporting young entrepreneurs, then I would absolutely support it, especially if they are performing at their current job. However, if the side hustle is taking away from their productivity or is competitive with their job, then absolutely not!” — Barbara Paldus, Founder and CEO of Mylah Beauty
How employers see it
At a high level, employers want to know, “will it take away from the thing I’m paying you to do”?
And that’s fair to ask.
However, it seems like there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes of different companies’ policies on side-hustles.
I’ve talked with a lot of start-up founders, and even asked this question on LinkedIn, and this seems to be the consensus with most of them.
In the start-up world, this makes a lot of sense. Most start-ups were created by people that were working on a side-hustle on nights and weekends while working a paying full-time gig. Why wouldn’t they want to support the very thing that afforded them the success they now have?
However, if it was being worked on during regular work hours, and/or interfering with normal business work, I wouldn't tolerate it.”
That’s an important distinction and one that’s often overlooked by many people. Having a side-hustle needs to truly be “on the side”. It’s not something you should be doing while you’re also getting paid at your day job. But, if you go further up the chain, from start-up to Fortune 500 Company, the side-hustle is a bit less accepted.
When you’re young, you’re a bit more carefree. You might have a new girlfriend or boyfriend every three weeks (and your longest relationship is three months). Start-ups are also young, and they love that carefree, “wanderlust” spirit about you. They aren’t looking for a 10-year commitment.
But, as you get older, you tend to want to find “someone you can settle down with.” You want someone who is committed to you and only you. You want someone who wants to build their life with you and grow old with you.
That’s the same for the more prominent, more mature businesses. They’ve grown up, and they’re looking for commitment. They aren’t saying you’re a terrible person for wanting to live free, but they’ve moved past that. They want you to want to build your career with them and focus exclusively on them.
How millennials see it
We get screwed. When I graduated as a registered nurse in 2005, everyone said I would never have to worry about a job because the demand for nurses was so high. Then 2008 happened and I was the low man on the totem pole. I was laid off for a bit and went back to school for marketing to diversify my skill set.
Side-hustles are how I kept food on the table.
We can bellyache about how hard it is to find a job after college, or about how the high cost of living makes it hard to survive on an entry-level salary. Catherine Baab-Muguira does a fantastic job of summing it up: millennials are obsessed with side hustles because that is all we’ve got.
Telling a millennial that you don’t support their side-hustle feels a bit controlling to us and sounds a lot like you don’t care about our general well-being. I know that’s not true, but that’s how we feel, and it’s based on real-life situations, not prognostication.
So does it matter?
Well - it depends on what type of job you’re looking for.
Even if your boss says it’s ok, a millennial determined to climb the ladder at a more traditional, corporate business should probably think twice about having a side-hustle. On the other hand, if you work for a start-up, go ahead and jump in once you’ve cleared it with your workaholic, eccentric founder.
Either way, the key is to figure out where you want to go and make sure the choices you make lead you down the right path.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/314518
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wmharris
William Harris, Guest Writer, CEO/Entrepreneur
“[It] depends on the seniority of employees and the nature of the side-hustle. If they are supporting their aging parents’ business or are a senior executive supporting young entrepreneurs, then I would absolutely support it, especially if they are performing at their current job. However, if the side hustle is taking away from their productivity or is competitive with their job, then absolutely not!” — Barbara Paldus, Founder and CEO of Mylah Beauty
How employers see it
At a high level, employers want to know, “will it take away from the thing I’m paying you to do”?
And that’s fair to ask.
However, it seems like there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes of different companies’ policies on side-hustles.
I’ve talked with a lot of start-up founders, and even asked this question on LinkedIn, and this seems to be the consensus with most of them.
In the start-up world, this makes a lot of sense. Most start-ups were created by people that were working on a side-hustle on nights and weekends while working a paying full-time gig. Why wouldn’t they want to support the very thing that afforded them the success they now have?
However, if it was being worked on during regular work hours, and/or interfering with normal business work, I wouldn't tolerate it.”
That’s an important distinction and one that’s often overlooked by many people. Having a side-hustle needs to truly be “on the side”. It’s not something you should be doing while you’re also getting paid at your day job. But, if you go further up the chain, from start-up to Fortune 500 Company, the side-hustle is a bit less accepted.
When you’re young, you’re a bit more carefree. You might have a new girlfriend or boyfriend every three weeks (and your longest relationship is three months). Start-ups are also young, and they love that carefree, “wanderlust” spirit about you. They aren’t looking for a 10-year commitment.
But, as you get older, you tend to want to find “someone you can settle down with.” You want someone who is committed to you and only you. You want someone who wants to build their life with you and grow old with you.
That’s the same for the more prominent, more mature businesses. They’ve grown up, and they’re looking for commitment. They aren’t saying you’re a terrible person for wanting to live free, but they’ve moved past that. They want you to want to build your career with them and focus exclusively on them.
How millennials see it
We get screwed. When I graduated as a registered nurse in 2005, everyone said I would never have to worry about a job because the demand for nurses was so high. Then 2008 happened and I was the low man on the totem pole. I was laid off for a bit and went back to school for marketing to diversify my skill set.
Side-hustles are how I kept food on the table.
We can bellyache about how hard it is to find a job after college, or about how the high cost of living makes it hard to survive on an entry-level salary. Catherine Baab-Muguira does a fantastic job of summing it up: millennials are obsessed with side hustles because that is all we’ve got.
Telling a millennial that you don’t support their side-hustle feels a bit controlling to us and sounds a lot like you don’t care about our general well-being. I know that’s not true, but that’s how we feel, and it’s based on real-life situations, not prognostication.
So does it matter?
Well - it depends on what type of job you’re looking for.
Even if your boss says it’s ok, a millennial determined to climb the ladder at a more traditional, corporate business should probably think twice about having a side-hustle. On the other hand, if you work for a start-up, go ahead and jump in once you’ve cleared it with your workaholic, eccentric founder.
Either way, the key is to figure out where you want to go and make sure the choices you make lead you down the right path.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/314518
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wmharris
William Harris, Guest Writer, CEO/Entrepreneur
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