Many people have proclaimed the death of hustle culture online — and have accused Gen Z of killing it by refusing to center their lives around work. But Gen Zer Mohuya Khan can confirm it's very much alive.
"Living in New York City — it's kind of a double-edged sword," Khan, who has lived in the city all her life, told Business Insider. "You see, everyone, for the most part, around you hustling."
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Gen Z is the generation most likely to have a side hustle; according to Glassdoor, over 57% of Gen Zers have at least one. But while traditional hustle culture focuses on working hard 24/7, Gen Z tries to introduce work-life balance into the equation.
Khan made $130,000 last year across nine separate income streams, none of them salaried. Some of them fed into each other; her work as a content creator allowed her to profit from brand partnerships, creator funds and affiliate links, for instance.
Others are entirely separate. She earns money from investing, hosting panels and popup events, helping businesses with social media marketing, and creating murals and artwork on commission. She also runs her own clothing brand and dropships products with her artwork.
But she found it hard to strike a balance between her income streams and her mental health, especially in the beginning. Putting 100% into each of those gigs ended up exhausting her.
"I'm proud of her, but I don't know if I would do it again," she said to Business Insider about her former self. "It motivated me. It also really burned me out."
If Gen Z is uninterested in the "work for work's sake" attitude that permeates traditional hustle culture, why are so many members of the generation taking on additional work? And how are they finding time for themselves even when taking on extra work?
Khan says the city she lives in greatly impacted her decision to forego a traditional workplace in favor of a more eclectic approach.
"You see people working multiple jobs, and obviously they're tired, but they're just doing it because it's kind of the normal way of living here," said Khan.
That might be due to NYC's high cost of living. New York City is the most expensive city to live in of the entire U.S., with housing especially driving up costs. Half of working-age New Yorkers struggle to cover the costs of basic needs.
But while New York City is especially bad, Gen Z workers everywhere are struggling to deal with high costs of living. A study from LendingTree found that only roughly one in four Gen Z workers earn enough to comfortably live on their own. The problem persists even for the third of young adults that cut costs by living with their parents.
On top of that, Gen Z is dealing with a job market that's increasingly unfriendly to entry-level workers (entry-level jobs have fallen by 35% since late 2024, potentially thanks to AI) and starter salaries that won't cover cost of living. In that environment, side hustles can start to look like an appealing option to boost your income.
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Traditional hustle culture is about appearing productive just as much as it is about being productive. You wake up at 4 a.m. and work from then until 10 p.m. not because you need to, but because doing so "proves" you're a harder worker than everyone else.
Gen Z isn't interested in appearing busy. They want the money that comes with side hustles, but they also care about work-life balance and mental health. They want their work to support their life, not the other way around — even if finding that balance is difficult.
"I think hustle culture is still there, it's just not as insane," said 23-year-old Jade Walters to CNBC. She has a full-time job and runs a business on the side. "You're putting in the work to have an easier life."
Khan still has the same income setup, but she focuses more on sustainability now. She's separated her sense of self from her work, and she tries to find things to ground herself with.
"I don't feel like I have to constantly burn myself out and overexert myself to prove anything to myself or others," Khan told Business Insider.
What sustainability looks like will differ from person to person. For many Gen Zer, it involves setting strict boundaries with your full-time job — for example, by clocking out exactly at 5 p.m. each day.
For others, it might look like putting your money toward experiences you find relaxing. Khan pays for massages every two months, for instance.
And, depending on what your side hustles are, it might even mean hiring part-time employees to help you shoulder the load.
While exact methods might differ, they all make hustle culture a more sustainable avenue toward wealth compared to what it was before.
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This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Gen Z New Yorker made $130,000 through 9 income streams — but the hustle nearly broke her
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