The Rise of the Side Job: How Are People Making Additional Income in 2022

Side jobs are becoming an increasingly popular way for full-time employees to generate additional income. Not only can second jobs put extra money in the pockets of workers, but they also enable the opportunity for upskilling and exploring new industries.

Put simply, a side hustle is a second job that is completely self-managed. It is a job that provides extra income, as well as the opportunity to broaden your skills outside of your regular employment. 

Side jobs may take a few extra hours after the 9-5 regime or be fitted into the weekend. No matter where the extra time is found, many people are adopting this add-on career option as an outlet to turn hobbies into pay cheques. And so it goes, in 2022, that ‘side hustle’ culture is growing.

With the internet opening up countless opportunities for promotion and online work, it’s no wonder that so many people are choosing to venture into self-employment!

Here at alldayPA, we’ve conducted a survey of 2,000 people to dive deeply into the side hustle space, enabling us to identify the type of people that tend to work extra jobs and the most popular types of side jobs in 2022. 

Conclusively, our survey suggests that there are now over 30% of full-time workers in the UK making money from a side job. 

So, let’s take a deeper look at the data to find out more.

Diving into the data: Where are people mainly picking up a second job?

As part of our survey, we wanted to find out where in the UK a second job was most prevalent. 

• The region with the highest concentration of ‘side hustlers’ is the South West. Of the people surveyed, 40% of full-time employees living in this region reported having an addition source of income. 
• Closely following with a high number of those producing extra income is London – the survey concludes that there are just under 40% of full-time workers in London with a second role.
• Northern Ireland and the East Midlands have 32% of full-time employees with‌ ‌a‌ ‌second job.
• There are 30% of workers with second roles in Yorkshire, 29% in Scotland, 28% in South East, 27% in West Midlands and just 25% in East Anglia.
• Full-time workers in the North East and North West are less likely to have a second role, with less than a quarter of people in the areas admitting to having additional jobs. 
• At the bottom of the leaderboard, we have Wales, where there are the least amount of full-time workers working for more money – just 21% answered yes to having a side hustle.

Interestingly, it could be argued that areas with an average higher cost of living contain the highest percentage of full-time workers taking up additional work for themselves. However, it may just be that the opportunities to expand skill sets or secure further roles are greater in certain areas.

Dissecting the age and gender demographics: Who is most likely to work a second job?

The data we collected shows the ways in which both males and females make money, how much they make and what jobs they take up. 

18% of women answered that they have a side hustle, whilst 12% of men responded that they work a second job.

The results signify that there is no significant difference between those who identify as men and those who identify as women when it comes to second jobs. 

However, the data does suggest a clear motivation to why women may work additional jobs. 

• Researchers found that women are generally employed for fewer hours than men.
• Majority of women who answered the survey reported that they earn less than 18,000 (25%) annually.
• On the flip side, the majority of men who answered the survey make £23,000-28,000 annually, which is substantially more than the average woman.

The age ranges of those most likely to work an additional job

The survey we conducted provided some insight into the average ages of those with work on the side.

The majority of people who have side jobs to generate additional income are between 18-24 years old.

Respondents in this age range gave some context to their work life, thus indicating why a second job is ideal. Compared to other age brackets, 18-24 year olds are contracted for fewer hours – with 78% working less than the typical 36-40 hour working week – meaning they have more free time outside of work to generate ‌additional‌ ‌income in other ways.

As we move up the generations, the percentage of those navigating the self-employment scene decreases:

• 35% of 25-34 year olds have a side hustle
• 28% of 45-54 year olds reported having an extra job
• 23% of 55-64 year olds answered that they do work on the side
• 20% of 64+ year olds reported working an additional job

What are people doing to make money on the side?

The ultimate question is: What are the jobs that people are choosing to invest their time in aside from their regular careers? 

We’ve got the answers.

Above all, the most popular side hustle is social media creation – particularly amongst young people.

Additionally, 36% of respondents listed ‘other’, providing specific details of their side job as a property developer, including renting out their properties, making investments in properties, and making money as a landlord outside of their contracted ‌hours.

The majority (9%) of men with a side hustle claimed that their go-to side job is photography. 

On the other hand, most women that answered the survey (7%) have a second job in hairdressing or alternative beauty treatments. 

Taking a closer look into social media content creation as a side job

In a world full of industries that rely heavily on digital marketing, it comes as no surprise that the demand for content is high. This, combined with the strong desire amongst the younger generation to use social media, makes content creation highly favourable as a side job. 

Social media content creation includes the crafting of blogs, vlogs, video content and image creation. Sharing content has popularised since the rise of social media platforms – TikTok in particular. It is because of the accessibility of the internet and ability to communicate with consumers, fans and communities on an international level that makes content creation a worthy job to commit to.

Lizzie Hinds, based in Gloucestershire, told us how her second job in social media content was an outlet for creativity and even helped her meet‌ ‌her‌ ‌fiancé ‌online.

“I’m a Twitch streamer, alongside my full-time occupation at Radioactive as Senior PR account executive. My side hustle of Twitch involves hosting live crafting sessions for an online community – they watch me cross-stitch and design patterns and chat along with me while I do so.

“I’m contracted to 150 hours a month in my full-time role as a PR executive and dedicate around 40 hours per month for my second role in my free time. My employers are very supportive and even use it as a selling point on my team profile on the website.

“This started as a creative outlet and a way for me to make meaningful connections with people who have similar interests to me during the pandemic. I love streaming as I now have friends from all over the world, and I even met my fiancée on Twitch and she proposed to me live on stream!”

She added: “It can be hard work juggling everything and can make you more susceptible to burnout but can also be extremely fruitful if it works out.

“I think there will be more side hustlers due to a combination of things. I think the pandemic gave a lot of people time to reflect on what they wanted to do, as well as gave them the opportunity to try new things. Workplaces becoming more flexible has also allowed people to have more control over how they structure their days. Sadly though, I think there might be a greater necessity for side hustles with the cost of living rising.”

So, why might people be choosing to take on a side job?

Undoubtedly, there are numerous reasons that contribute to why an individual opts to try to make more money. From lower paid jobs to rising living costs and varied unique circumstances, whatever the motivation, side jobs can be incredibly lucrative and rewarding.

Our survey data provides us with the following insights, all of which could contribute to the choice to work another role.

• 42% of all employees work overtime but the majority of people don’t get paid for this (always 38%/sometimes 15%/no 47%)
• Majority of employees are still working under a hybrid model, which makes a second job more accessible (especially social media creators, with more time at home to create content)

Despite social media content creation being a job in itself, the beauty of these platforms is that they allow individuals to market themselves. They provide the perfect platform for exposure; social media can accelerate success and help people find customers across the country. 

How alldayPA can help self-employed people manage their time efficiently

As the concept of the side job continues to popularise, it’s important to consider all of the ways in which full-time workers can make time for their second job. 

The primary service we offer at alldayPA is call handling, delivered on a subscription basis. ‌From marketing and PR to finance, IT support, real estate, and so much more, we help clients in a range of industries. ‌As a result, our call answering services are customised to your small business and its needs, ensuring that you and your clients are always satisfied! Additionally, by letting us handle your customer relationships, you can focus on your day-to-day duties while we handle incoming enquiries.

As a result, you’ll have more time to enjoy work-life balance, and you’ll have fewer reasons to become overwhelmed ‌at‌ ‌work. 

Are you juggling a full-time job and a side hustle? Get in touch with us to get your diary management in check, customer service handled professionally and work-life balance improved.