Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

gig economy

Do You Believe These 3 Lies of the Side Hustle Culture?

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The side hustle. 

To some, it’s something to do in your spare time that’s more productive than binging on Netflix or Disney+. To others, it’s the new credit card. And for everyone else, it’s become the new normal. After all, if you don’t have one, you’re likely funding someone else’s.

The allure of the side hustle is that it promises a life of freedom and flexibility—or control.
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The allure of the side hustle is that it promises a life of freedom and flexibility—or control. It goes something like this:

“You have unlimited earning potential, so if you want to go on a trip, just gig for a few hours.”

“Want that new outfit? Sell a few things.” 

“Want the latest phone? Hustle for it. After all, everyone has free time that they waste, so just use that time and earn some extra cash. Be productive! You’re in control, so make it happen—rise and grind and get it done.”

Experts are calling this the gig economy and in 2019, according to a study commissioned by Upwork and Freelancers Union, 35 percent of the American workforce was a part of it — up from five years prior. That means 57 million Americans were self-employed in a part-time or full-time capacity getting paid for their time, skills, possessions or expertise. To give you some perspective, that’s more people than the entire populations of Canada, Liberia, Greece and Puerto Rico combined! 

57 million Americans are a part of the gig economy.
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What’s so surprising about it all is just how rapidly the gig economy has grown. I mean, can you believe that 68 percent of all gig workers surveyed joined the gig economy in the last five years? You see similar trends in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, where the growing gig economy continues to affect normal everyday life.

Although the news is covering how the gig economy can be both positive and negative to your mental health — or how Uber and Postmates are suing the State of California to stop the new AB5 Gig-Worker law — no one is talking about the unintended consequences that this rapid shift in culture is silently ushering in.

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A Vicious Cycle

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Are you familiar with the parable of the rich fool? I’d tell it myself, but Jesus does it better.

A rich man’s land was very productive. He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”

What I love about Jesus’ parables is that they’re as applicable today in the 21st century, as they were in the 1st century. And what’s amazing is that the more you dig, the more you’ll find—this is true for the entire Bible. For example, while the crowds listening in on Jesus would’ve been shocked by the story, it’s likely for different reasons than us. Here’s why.

On the surface, it seems foolish that the man would first tear down his barns before building bigger ones. Perhaps his older barns were dilapidated? Or maybe he didn’t have enough land for additional barns? Both seem unlikely because this man was already rich, even before his year of plenty, which means he likely took care of his property.

And it’s not like we’re talking about Manhattan here, so the fact that he already had more than one barn shows us that he likely had room to build more. So why didn’t he just add on to his additional barns? And if he was already rich, why didn’t he give some of his crops away?

While these are the questions that naturally come to mind for a 21st century reader, Jesus’ initial listeners would’ve been shocked for different reasons.

Try reading through the parable again and counting how many times the rich man uses the personal pronoun. And did you notice to whom he was speaking?

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In Doers We Trust?

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Blank stare. Tossed hair. And a longing to be elsewhere.

If you’re up for it, let’s play a game of “Guess Who?” It’s simple. Just try and guess who I’m looking at right now.

Hangry, irritable, and unable to focus.

Is a picture of someone forming in your mind? Here are a few more descriptors: Piles of dirty laundry, protein bar wrappers in the trash, and a cup of coffee that’s been warmed up one too many times.

If you guessed a prisoner, an executive, or a working parent, you’re close, but not quite there yet. If you guessed yourself, you’re closer, but that probably means one of two things—you’re either sleep deprived or a doer.

Recently, one of the largest online marketplaces for freelancers ran an ad campaign in New York subways plastering up headshots of doers and excerpts from their interviews. They called this campaign, “The Year of Do,” with the catchy tag line, “In Doers We Trust.”

Here’s the excerpt from the ad I’m looking at, “You eat a coffee for lunch. You follow through on your follow through. Sleep deprivation is your drug of choice. You might be a doer.”

Apparently doing has become a badge of honor. A status symbol. And the way to define ourselves.

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A New (or Ancient) Way of Addressing the Lies of our Culture

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The gig economy affects everyone and everything. It’s the new normal and it matters.

But as I’ve been sharing over the past few weeks, it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. The seven lies of the gig economy all hold a critical role in the way that you see yourself, but they are not the way to see yourself because they all come up short.

They’re incomplete precisely because they’re half-truths. As a result, there are unintended consequences behind each and every one of them.

This is why you can’t let any of these lies become the primary lens through which you view yourself, and also why we’re so particularly vulnerable to these lies.

Living according to the lies of the gig economy is like living in chains.

It’s tiring.

It’s a grind and a hustle just to try and keep up. And it’s actually a fool’s game because you will never feel caught up.

Living according to the lies of the gig economy is like living in chains.
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The Unintended Consequences of the Gig Economy

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In our culture today, doing has become a badge of honor.

It’s become a status symbol and the way to define ourselves.

The same is true with the rest of the lies of the gig economy that I breakdown in my new book, You Are What You Do: And Six Other Lies about Work, Life, and Love.

Doing has become a badge of honor. It’s become a status symbol and the way to define ourselves.
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Our sense of meaning and significance have become tied to our experiences, our relationships, our knowledge, our stuff, our children and our past. However, the thing with each of these lies is that they all have unintended consequences.

  • A life of doing leads to a life of worrying
  • A life of experiences leads to a life of comparison
  • A life seeking acceptance from others leads to a loss of self
  • A life focused on the pursuit of knowledge leads to a life of despair
  • A life amassing stuff leads to a life of imprisonment
  • A life that revolves around your children leads to a life of narcissism
  • And a life lived in the past leads to a life of regret and pain
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