A bit on the side

Last week, the Coalition’s Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations and Employment, Tim Wilson, announced he will campaign for policies that encourage school children to take up side hustles.

Rather than an attempt to prepare teens for the social media ban by introducing them to Airtasker, Wilson said he was seeking to “create a community appetite for start-ups and small businesses”. How do you do, fellow kids.

Side hustles are nothing new, but they are having another moment in the sun.

A Melbourne university student made headlines by undertaking a series of odd jobs, including being paid $23 to help catch a cheating boyfriend by seeing if he would match with her on Tinder. Literally a bit on the side.

Some Zoomers are putting even less effort into their ventures, with many in the US signing up to Verb.AI, an app that pays users $50 a month to track phone activity such as browsing, buying, and streaming.

Less depressingly, one survey shows two-thirds of Gen Z and millennials have started or plan to start a side hustle. Rather than a response to the rising cost of living and wage stagnation, the trend appears to be more socially and culturally driven.

A new report from Deakin, Melbourne, and Leeds universities found that the majority of those undertaking a side hustle were well-educated and financially comfortable. Most had money to invest in the setup, and 10% received financial support from family members. The top motivations were passion and enjoyment, not a need for extra cash.

While access to such pursuits should not depend on demographics, it’s a promising sign of passion and creativity winning out at a time of traditional models of work cracking under the strain of societal and technological pressures.

Even if it has led to a cohort of people who cringingly claim they’re entrepreneurs on first dates.