Hustle culture and having a side hustle were once the norm, and maybe still are for a lot of people. But grinding in the hustle doesn’t come without its risks or its downsides. As someone with a side hustle, I think it’s important to know these downsides so we don’t get blindsided by them. Hopefully, this article will help us all make better-informed decisions about our futures.
What Is A Side Hustle
Let’s start with some basic background. Hustle culture is defined as the glorification of working long hours and constantly striving for professional achievement. Whereas having a side hustle means having one or more additional jobs on top of our main job (Forster-Holt, 2021). Both can be argued to glorify being ‘on the grind’, where this relentless pursuit of success can often become a sort of badge of honour (Luke, 2024).
Because of today’s economy, many people have turned to a side hustle as a way to bring in much-needed extra income to top up their primary income. But if we’re lucky, it’s done to explore entrepreneurial opportunities instead (Celestin and Vanitha, 2018).
In an ideal situation, our primary job supports our side hustle, with the primary one bringing in a guaranteed income, while the side hustle gives us a sense of fulfilment, purpose, and meaning (Heilmann and Ekonen, 2022).
The Costs Of Having A Side Hustle
It’s a global reality that financial insecurity caused by some of the worst wages for the primary job in generations has forced many people to have a side hustle (Zhang, Jiang, Xing, and Cheung, 2025). Unfortunately, this comes at a price.
If our side hustle is of an entrepreneurial nature, then statistically, these kinds of side hustles can be among the most mentally challenging ways to work (Jones, 2023). While a side hustle can be a great way to earn extra income or explore a passion, it’s not without its drawbacks.
Productivity trap
One of the main issues with having a side hustle is how both roles can cause us to be consumed by the demands of both of those roles. Meaning there’s the potential for overwork and the challenges of managing multiple responsibilities getting on top of us. Thus, our performance can be negatively affected across the board, leading to increased stress and eventually, burnout (Toseland, 2024).
Decline in performance at our main job
A side hustle can become all-consuming, causing us to lose focus and energy for our primary source of income. The income that may be sustaining us as we try to become entrepreneurial. We may find ourselves thinking about our side gig during our main job, or showing up to our main job tired and less productive because of late nights. This can negatively impact our career progression and even put our main job at risk.
Work/Life balance
The most significant downside is the potential for a side hustle to consume our free time. Working a full-time job and then dedicating evenings and weekends to another endeavour can lead to a severe lack of downtime for relaxation, hobbies, and social activities. This can strain relationships with family and friends, leading to social isolation (Toseland, 2024).
Financial and legal risks
Starting a side hustle often requires an initial investment of time and money, and there’s no guarantee of success. We may need to buy equipment, create a website, or pay for marketing. Additionally, we’ll be responsible for our own taxes and may need to navigate legal issues, such as liability and intellectual property, which can be stressful and complex.
Furthermore, we may want to review our employment contract before taking on a side hustle. There may be provisions in our contracts that stop us from taking on a side hustle, or at least require us to report it to our place of work to get their permission. For example, some jobs may have this in place to avoid conflicts of interest or to stop employees from working for the competition at the same time. This could lead to disciplinary action, including termination.
Money
If the reason for our side hustle is financial insecurity, then this will already have a negative effect on our wellbeing. Financial insecurity will harm our wellbeing, mental health, job attitudes, self-esteem, sense of control, and generally deplete our cognitive resources (Zhang, Jiang, Xing, and Cheung, 2025).
Stress and burnout
Juggling two jobs, even if one is a passion project, can significantly increase our stress levels. We may face pressure to meet deadlines for our side hustle while also performing well at our main job. This constant state of being “on” can lead to chronic stress, exhaustion, and ultimately, burnout.
Not only that, but boundaries between our personal life and work life may become blurred. This can mean we’re not looking after our wellbeing, engaging in hobbies or self-care, and not maintaining our relationships (Toseland, 2024).
Loss of passion
What may begin as an enjoyable passion project can quickly feel like a chore once it becomes a source of income and a list of demanding tasks develops. At times, I’ve felt that with my blog, as it takes up a lot more time than you’d think it would, for little return. I’ve thought about giving up blogging a few times.
The pressure to generate revenue, deal with customer complaints, and market your business can sap the joy out of an activity we once loved. And let’s not forget all the spam and scammers emailing you. There’s just so much of it.
Summary
Having a side hustle can be a rewarding experience, and if we’re lucky, it may become our primary source of income. However, a lot of side hustles can require a lot of time and effort for very little in return; it is one of the reasons most blogs don’t make it past six months. Obviously, this will depend on the type of side hustle we pick, which will change the risk/return profile quite a bit.
Before taking on a side hustle, work out some rules to follow so we can maintain our boundaries while also looking after our own needs. Weigh up the potential costs, not just in money, but in time and effort, because stress and tiredness will become something that will need to be effectively managed. Having a realistic view of what to expect with a side hustle can help us be better prepared, whatever we decide.
As always, leave your feedback in the comments section below. Also, please share your experiences with having a side hustle in the comments section below as well. Don’t forget, if you want to stay up-to-date with my blog, you can sign up for my newsletter below. Alternatively, click the red bell icon in the bottom right corner to get push notifications for new articles.
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References
Celestin, M., & Vanitha, N. (2018). Side Hustles That Became Empires: What Every Entrepreneur Can Learn. International Journal of Computational Research and Development (IJCRD), 3(2), 48-54. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Prof-Celestin/publication/385748675_SIDE_HUSTLES_THAT_BECAME_EMPIRES_WHAT_EVERY_ENTREPRENEUR_CAN_LEARN/links/67340401a78ba469f05f9b0c/SIDE-HUSTLES-THAT-BECAME-EMPIRES-WHAT-EVERY-ENTREPRENEUR-CAN-LEARN.pdf.
Forster-Holt, N. (2021). Stimulation versus simulation: The student side hustle as a learning innovation. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy, 4(4), 808-829. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/2515127420959053.
Heilmann, P., & Ekonen, M. (2022). Side-hustling and meaningfulness in work. In Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings. Academy of Management. Retrieved from https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/790375/Article.pdf.
Jones, A. (2023, November). The secret shame of the side hustle. Women’s Health. Retrieved from https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/collective/long-reads/a45907877/the-secret-shame-of-the-side-hustle.
Luke. (2024, April). The Double-Edged Sword of ‘Hustle Culture’. YoungMinds. Retrieved from https://www.youngminds.org.uk/young-person/blog/the-double-edged-sword-of-hustle-culture.
Toseland, M. (2024, December). The dark side of side hustles: the risk of burnout. PA Life. Retrieved from https://palife.co.uk/news/workplace-wellbeing/the-dark-side-of-side-hustles-the-risk-of-burnout.
Zhang, G., Jiang, L., Xing, L., & Cheung, W. H. G. (2025). Financial Insecurity among Side-Hustlers: the Roles of Sense of Control, Perceived Financial Stigma, and Side-Hustle Security. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1-21. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10869-025-10046-3.pdf.