Forgot the part where management also says use it or lose it, your vacation no longer rolls over, and your vacation bank now has an expiry date. But thanks again for all your hard work.

Classic Dutch beach volleyball sleeping positions

Same with your side gig.

It is not a flex if your primary job isn’t enough to pay the bills. It’s a societal failure that wages have not kept up with inflation and that capitalism continues to filter the benefits of increased productivity to ownership at the expense of labor. Being forced to cope with your own exploitation, or worse, figuring out how to exploit others, is not the flex you think it is

And if it ain’t about the money, it’s definitely not a flex that you filled your free time with more work. Unless you’re trying to make your side gig into your 9-5, there is a world of activities, hobbies, and pastimes to better yourself that you are missing out on.