The hustle era is over. Here’s what’s replacing it—and why you might feel relieved.
Remember when having a side hustle was basically a personality trait? When your Uber-driving, Etsy-selling, podcast-hosting lifestyle was something to humble-brag about at brunch? Well, 2025 has entered the chat, and it’s got some news: the side hustle industrial complex is crumbling, and nobody’s mourning its death.
The Rise and Fall of Hustle Culture
Let’s rewind. The 2010s gave us the gig economy and the seductive promise that anyone could be their own boss. We were sold on the idea that our 9-to-5 wasn’t enough—that if we weren’t monetizing our hobbies, we were basically leaving money on the table. Suddenly, everyone was a “content creator,” “entrepreneur,” or “creative freelancer.”
Fast forward to now, and the exhaustion is palpable. According to recent surveys, nearly 60% of millennials and Gen Z workers who started side hustles between 2020-2023 have either scaled back significantly or quit altogether. The thinkpieces have shifted from “7 Side Hustles You Can Start This Weekend” to “Why Rest Is the Ultimate Productivity Hack.”
What Actually Happened?
The pandemic played a weird role here. Initially, it supercharged the side hustle economy—people had time, needed money, and were stuck at home. But it also gave us perspective. When you’re working from home, your main job bleeding into your side gig bleeding into your personal time becomes less “entrepreneurial spirit” and more “why am I doing this to myself?”
Here’s what people are realizing:
The Math Doesn’t Math. When you factor in the time spent on your side hustle against your hourly rate, many people found they were making less than minimum wage. That Depop store? After photographing items, writing descriptions, packaging, and shipping, you might be making $8 an hour. Cool.
Hobbies Became Homework. There’s something soul-crushing about turning your creative outlet into an income stream. That pottery you loved making? Now it’s “product.” That writing you enjoyed? Now it’s “content.” The joy gets optimized right out of it.
The Burnout Was Real. Working 40+ hours at your day job, then coming home to work on your “passion project” that you’re also trying to monetize, while maintaining relationships, exercising, and occasionally sleeping? That’s not hustle culture—that’s a recipe for a breakdown.
The Shift to “Quiet Thriving”
So what’s replacing the side hustle? A few things, actually, and they’re all way less exhausting:
Actual Hobbies. Revolutionary concept: doing things you enjoy without monetizing them. Young people are rediscovering the joy of reading for pleasure, painting without posting, cooking without filming. The ROI is measured in satisfaction, not dollars.
Strategic Career Moves. Instead of spreading themselves thin across multiple income streams, people are focusing on leveling up in their main careers. Negotiating better salaries, switching to companies with better work-life balance, actually using their PTO.
Community Over Competition. The side hustle era was deeply individualistic—everyone for themselves, competing in oversaturated markets. Now there’s a shift toward collective action: joining unions, advocating for better wages, supporting local businesses instead of trying to become one.
The “Enough” Philosophy. This is the big one. Young people are questioning whether they need to constantly level up their income if their current lifestyle is sustainable and satisfying. It’s anti-capitalist, it’s radical, and it’s catching on.
Is This Just Privilege?
Let’s address the elephant in the room: not everyone can afford to quit their side hustle. Many people work multiple jobs out of necessity, not choice. The “quiet quitting your side hustle” movement is more accurately described as “people who had the privilege of choice are making different choices.”
But here’s what’s interesting: even among those who need the extra income, there’s a shift in approach. Instead of the optimistic “entrepreneur” framing, there’s more honest conversation about economic realities. The side hustle isn’t romanticized—it’s recognized as a response to wages not keeping pace with cost of living.
What This Means for the Future
The death of hustle culture doesn’t mean ambition is dead. It means ambition is being redefined. Success is less about the number of income streams and more about:
- Having time for relationships
- Enjoying your work instead of enduring it
- Financial stability without sacrificing mental health
- Being really good at one thing instead of mediocre at five things
Companies are noticing too. Some are even banning side hustles in contracts (controversial, but it’s happening). Others are finally offering competitive salaries that make side hustles unnecessary.
How to Quit Your Side Hustle Without Guilt
If you’re ready to join the quiet quitting movement, here’s your permission slip:
- Run the Numbers. Calculate your actual hourly rate from your side hustle. If it’s depressing, that’s data.
- Audit Your Joy. Does this thing still spark joy, or is it just sparking anxiety? Be honest.
- Set a Sunset Date. You don’t have to go cold turkey. Give yourself a timeline to wind things down properly.
- Redirect the Energy. Use those reclaimed hours for something that actually rejuvenates you. Sleep counts. Netflix counts. Staring at the wall counts.
- Update Your Bio. Remove “entrepreneur” from your Instagram bio. It’s liberating.
The Bottom Line
The side hustle era taught us some valuable lessons about self-reliance and creativity. But it also taught us that we’re not machines, that hobbies are sacred, and that sometimes the best investment is in our own sanity.
If you’re quietly quitting your side hustle, you’re not alone—you’re part of a massive cultural shift toward sustainability over hustle, presence over productivity, and being over doing. The algorithm might not like it, but your nervous system definitely will.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to do absolutely nothing monetizable for the rest of the evening. And it’s going to be great.
Have you quit your side hustle? What pushed you to finally let it go? The comments are open, and for once, this isn’t sponsored content.