Boss ‘Told Off’ Employee For Having A ‘Side Hustle’ Outside Of Work Hours And Demanded She Stop
Should employers have any say in what employees do outside of working hours?
Jacob Lund / CanvaPro An employee wrote to Ben Askins on TikTok, an employment and financial expert who uses their platform to provide advice, after her boss demanded she quit her side hustle outside of her working hours. Her dilemma sparked a larger conversation about the state of the economy and the overarching reach employers try to exert outside of the office.
According to a survey by Self, 45% of working Americans have a side hustle, and more often than not, it has everything to do with making ends meet.
However, some employers are concerned about the implications of a side hustle — for a variety of reasons. With the fear of losing her job, this employee is looking for advice — wondering if it’s worth it to fight back or easier to just let go of their endeavor altogether.
This employee is looking for advice after being told ‘to stop working’ by their side hustle by their full-time employer.
“I really don’t understand this sort of old school, old fashioned [expletive],” Askins said. “I’m completely for side hustles. I think this company is idiotic.”
Even with degrees, full-time jobs, and busy schedules, so many employees admit they’re struggling to make ends meet.
Although they might’ve seemed like a short-term endeavor for many at the beginning, almost 44% of employees admit they don’t see themselves giving up their side hustles any time soon — with many admitting they’ll “always need” the extra income.
While many employment experts suggest ‘side hustles’ can be extremely beneficial, this woman's boss is forcing her to stop.
Despite the financial help and security they provide for employees, many have found it difficult to navigate their traditional full-time jobs alongside them, but not for the reasons you might think. Most employees with side hustles use their time, completely separate from their main job, to pursue these gigs, but employers inevitably worry productivity will suffer from being stretched too thin.
Despite discourse in corporate spaces, the consequences of side hustles hardly ever expand past that. Of course, if people are working a side hustle that competes with their main business or they’re spending time at their full-time job working on other things — that’s a much bigger problem.
With the animosity and fear many employers place on their employees, alongside the growing job insecurity in many industries, it’s no surprise that many people also get side hustles as a sense of income security. Gen Zers in particular have adopted side hustles for this reason, suggesting they’ve seen older generations “get burned” by their employers — from layoffs to misguided terminations.
Although employment laws allow employers to fire employees with side hustles that ‘compete or interfere’ with a full-time job, the terms are vague.
While it seems perfectly reasonable to have a separate, non-competing job outside of a full-time one, many employers disagree. However, employment law only covers terminations for side hustles that have competed with full-time contracts or have taken up time from the main employer.
Like many employment laws, this kind of regulation can be incredibly vague and difficult to manage — especially being that state laws differ across the country regarding the ethicality of side hustles. In some states, like California, employees are mandated to disclose their side hustles to their primary employer, while in others they’re not.
Askins, however, is of the mindset that side hustles are beneficial to employees and they should never be mandated to stop working them unless it directly conflicts with their job or causes a marked change in performance.
Floral Deco / CanvaPro
As Askins emphasized, the more financially stable and creatively stimulated an employee is, the better off their employer will be. Instead of considering leaving their job to pursue something else, they can do both — dividing their personal and professional time to earn extra money and fulfill more creative endeavors.
Comments sparked discussion about the ethicality of the employer's demands.
“If companies have a problem with side hustles they should pay better,” one commenter suggested, “so that people don’t need them to survive.” Many comments followed a similar narrative, suggesting that employers only condemn side hustles because they take away from the already overworked employees many corporate industries yearn for.
“What I do after working hours is not my company’s business,” another wrote. “How some employers think they have full control over their employees’ lives is mind-blowing.”
As many agree, employers would be better off creating a safe atmosphere for people to pursue other interests and work — without fear of being fired. Without side hustles, employees would be less financially stable, less happy, and more stressed.
If companies are worried about their employees leaving for a side hustle, they should be more focused on paying appropriate wages and giving people the freedom they deserve to take a break from work.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment writer at YourTango focusing on pop culture and human interest stories.