But not always in a good way.
Jennifer Nahrgang, professor of management and entrepreneurship at The University of Iowa Tippie College of Business, led a team of researchers that surveyed 200 employees with side hustles along with their day job co-workers to see what impact a second job has on a person’s behavior in their full-time job.
They found people with side hustles are more apt to act like jerks to their day job co-workers. Nahrgang said this was because the side hustlers are so used to the autonomy they have on their second job that the relative rigidity and lack of control in their full-time job starts to wear on them, leading to reduced productivity, hostile behavior, and anger with managers.
But the study also found this behavior can be mitigated if managers provide more autonomy to their side hustling employees.
The study also found that people with side hustles may adopt a more positive approach to dealing with their frustrations by taking more initiative in their full-time job that restores control over their work, which benefited their performance.