The traditional career path is becoming less common. In the past, people could work hard, climb the ranks of their profession, and retire with a good pension. Today, careers are much more complicated. Between frozen salaries, a lack of quality jobs available, and fear of being replaced by AI, there’s the rising cost of living. With all of this financial instability, many people in the workforce are branching out to make ends meet. This includes polyworking, which involves taking multiple jobs and seeking streams of passive income. But there are downsides to this approach.
The Need for a Safety Net
Many people in the modern workforce dream of the job security of older generations. Back in the day, people were able to buy houses and raise families on one income. Secondary education almost guaranteed a good career, and the job market held diverse opportunities. That is far from the reality today. The typical age of first-time home buyers is 40 years old, according to the U.S. National Association of Realtors. The majority of families have both parents working. In fact, according to the Institute of Family Studies, 69% of married mothers with young children were in the workforce in 2025. Compare that to the 63% in 2000. And despite this, many Americans live paycheck to paycheck. In fact, according to a Bankrate survey, “Only 46 percent of Americans have enough emergency savings to cover three months of expenses.”
“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 the University of North Carolina, to AP News. “So people are looking for ways to supplement and to build themselves a little bit of a safety net.”
The New Approach to Making Money
While people used to stay on one career path, similar positions today may not offer the same level of payment and benefits, making the wages insubstantial in the long term. So people switch jobs or start “polyworking”. Even people working 9 to 5 may be looking into other streams of income to keep up with the rising prices, pay off debts, or contribute to savings. Alternatively, they may want backup jobs in case of unexpected redundancy.
“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.
Some of the more sought-after side gigs involve time flexibility or work-from-home capabilities. Examples include becoming a ride-share or delivery driver, freelancer, seller of handmade goods, or provider of local services like dog-walking, tutoring, etc.
Passive income side hustles are especially popular. These types of jobs tend to include hard work upfront for long-term profit. Social media creators benefit from this sort of stream. They make content, post it, then get paid based on its popularity over time. Other examples include selling courses or books, or affiliate marketing. The rich used to dominate this kind of“polyworking” passive income because it often requires a large initial investment, like with renting properties, building a financial portfolio, or being a hands-off business owner. Now, more people from lower classes are applying this method to supplement jobs that are not earning enough to stay afloat in this economy.
The Overhype of Passive Income
A high start-up cost is only one of the many drawbacks of passive income, according to Business Insider. Unfortunately, most people would love to make money doing nothing, which has led to a heavily saturated market. Consider how many content creators are posting without getting any traction, or how many ebooks never reach a wide audience. Sometimes you can have a quality product, and yet there’s no payoff, and that’s just how it goes. Unpredictability could also mean losses, especially with investments. And despite the claims of“earning money while you sleep,” most of these streams require ongoing maintenance. This might mean continuing to upload content, fixing up rentals after guests, checking market conditions, etc. The income stream may dry up as soon as you stop putting effort into it, making it less “passive” than advertised.
Furthermore, “financial gurus” on social media may equate “passive income” with “easy money”. They may glorify different kinds of hustles, shame 9-to-5 workers, and brag about how much money they made “while sleeping”. More often than not, these influencers are making their money through their courses, e-books, and views on social media. Essentially, they are becoming rich by telling people how to get rich. After all, if their side gigs were so profitable, why would they tell everyone and risk market saturation? So look out for these“hustle” grifters who proclaim, “Pay me $100, and I’ll teach you how to make $100.” More often than not, the buyer ends up losing money. This is also true for those who pay to join MLMs/networking marketing schemes with selling- or recruiting-based commission. If it’s too good to be true, it’s probably a money-making scam.
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The Allure of Polyworking
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People don’t always look for side jobs and passive incomes out of necessity. Sometimes, they are following their passions and hoping to make money at the same time. This is common among artists, writers, comedians, musicians, and other creatives. (The rise of AI is especially hard on this demographic, who often struggle to make any income from their work.) Additionally, the promise of flexibility and remote working attracts many people to passive income streams, especially if they travel or raise children. Above all, side hustles can help people feel more financially secure in an economy and job market where nothing is guaranteed. So, although the path of polyworking is untraditional and at times unpredictable, it can be far more rewarding.
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