COVID-19 furlough and subsequent ‘Pingdemic’ lead to 33.6% rise in employee side hustles

According to the latest survey by the UK’s leading independent job board, CV-Library, the number of staff who run a side-hustle alongside their full-time job has increased by 33.6%. This increase is likely due to employees being forced to stay at home as a result of the ‘Pingdemic’ and COVID-19 furlough schemes.

The study, which surveyed over 1,100 UK professionals, revealed that 1 in every 10 employees now has a side-hustle, with 46.3% of staff stating they started their business as a direct result of the pandemic. What’s more, a whopping 49.2% intend to leave their current role and work on their side-hustle full-time.

Interestingly, most professionals (52.5%) with a side hustle chose to let their employers know about their side business. Despite crippling staff shortages across several industries, more than three-quarters (77.4%) of employers were overwhelmingly supportive of their team member’s new business venture.

Lee Biggins, CEO and founder of CV-Library comments: “With so much uncertainty over the last 18 months, it’s understandable that so many employees have looked for new ways to supplement their income. What’s more surprising is that so many businesses have been supportive of these endeavours. With staff shortages plaguing the UK job market, it may seem counter-intuitive to encourage employees to strike out on their own. However, it could be argued that this is actually a clever approach to take.

Biggins continues: “Offering support will engender loyalty in your staff and as long as employees are focussed on your business during working hours, there shouldn’t be a problem.”