Traditionally, people would find a job they enjoyed and that paid decently, then steadily climb the ranks, often committing to one employer for years. But as the cost of living rises and wages stagnate, today’s professionals aren’t waiting for their bosses to promote them. Instead, they are taking matters into their own hands. After years of job hopping and more recently, the explosion of side-hustles, workers are now splitting their time across numerous employers, at once.
The phenomenon of working two or more jobs, now dubbed polyworking, has emerged as a way for young people to build financial stability and regain some control over their future.
Sarah Sandra, 25, runs Sandi Burnie’s Delicacies Limited, which offers bitings, private chef, and catering services. She balances this role with a full-time position as sous chef at Ciokavi’s restaurant in Ruiru, and two part-time gigs as overland chef and child-minder for tour groups and individuals.
Also a mother of one, her typical day involves a precarious blend of kitchen prep, client meetings, deliveries, caring for her child, and sometimes working on-site at events or shoots.
“I’m always on the move. On weekdays, I wake up early to take my daughter to school and do the private chef duties till 11am. Then I go to the restaurant where I work till 11.30pm. On weekends, I mostly go on road trips to prepare food for travellers. Working multiple jobs is necessary to support myself and my child. I don’t have a choice.
“I can’t survive with just one job. I’m a single mum who’s growing a business and also taking care of my cousin at the same time. I need different channels of capital,” she says.
Her employer at the restaurant is aware of her schedule, and is okay with it.
“It was the first thing I told him. I believe he accepted me because he thinks I’m an asset. I don’t just cook, I also know how to interact with clients and make them come back. Part of my work at the restaurant is creating content and marketing.”
And while working multiple jobs is a major confidence boost and makes her feel financially secure, it is not without its share of challenges.
“Managing all these roles can be intense. I’ve experienced fatigue burnout, especially when work overlaps or things don’t go as planned,” Sandra confesses. “I’ve had to sacrifice friendships and dating simply because I don’t have the time to even just chat on the phone. I’ve also missed out on quality time with my child, which is very tough because my mum was a single mum who didn’t have much time for me, and I don’t want to put my child through the same experience.”
To maintain some level of sanity, Sandra has learned how to structure her days and prioritise recovery through journaling, devotions, spending time with her daughter, and doing something light and fun for herself, including intentionally scheduling quiet time.
With a clear goal to open a restaurant someday, Sandra sees this season more as a stepping-stone than a long-term plan.
“This lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but it works for those who are self-motivated and flexible. If you’re clear on your why, it helps you push through the tough days.”
Elizabeth Musiko, 26, popularly known as Liz Mukatiah, is a marketing specialist working 8am to 5pm on weekdays. But from 5.30pm to 9pm, she transforms into an entrepreneur selling bags at her store, Bags by Izzy, in Nairobi CBD.
“I lost my first job three years ago when the company that had hired me exited the Kenyan market. That period before finding another job was frustrating because I kept wishing I had something to do. I made a promise to myself to create multiple sources of income so that if I lost one, I would still afford my lifestyle and meet my needs.
Asked whether her employer knows about her other business, she says, “If I'm good at what I do in my main job, nobody should be concerned with what I do after work.”
Not a first-timer at the art of juggling trades, Liz has managed to balance her life such that her sacrifices are at a minimum. If anything, the challenge for her would be if she was not as busy as she is.
“I don’t go to the shop every day. If I’m not required to, I go home and get my eight hours of sleep. I also take Saturdays off. That is my day to rest, recharge, and think. On Sundays I go to church, and if there’s any need to socialise and be outside, I do it in the afternoons.
“I think the most affected thing in my life currently is friendships. Friends sometimes need you to talk and meet with them often, but unless I intentionally make time on Sunday, I’m not able to do that.”
Driven by the desire to be a good role model for her younger siblings and have at least five sources of income so she can retire early, Liz is just getting started.
“I have two sources of income now, but I’m building on a third one because my employer could wake up one day and decide they don’t need me anymore. For Bags by Izzy, the government could deny us the ability to import second-hand goods, so I have to distribute the risk of loss.”
As a Gen-Z, Liz has determined that her peers, unlike the generations ahead, are not stuck on the idea of doing one thing for a long time. Instead, they’re chasing gigs that require the least out of them, but pay well.
To those desiring to layer jobs, Liz’s advice is, “Learn how to delegate. If you try to do everything on your own, something will suffer.”
Simon Maingi, 34, also juggles four income streams. A digital marketer, voice-over artist, content creator, and TV panelist, he started polyworking at 24, just around the time he began content creation. His decision to take on multiple jobs was borne of a hard-learned lesson.
“What pushed me to polyworking was the realisation that having one stream of income in Kenya is very dangerous,” he says.
Simon’s 20s were marked by hustle—not out of regret, but intention. Even as a university student, he was already entering media competitions like the Capital One and Presenter Show, hoping to carve out his place in a crowded and competitive job market. “I knew the job atmosphere wasn’t for the faint-hearted,” he says.
Balancing multiple roles has forced Simon to abandon the idea of work-life balance altogether.
“I never seek to balance anything. If you’re trying to balance, then nothing is a priority. Sometimes your health takes centre stage, sometimes it’s your finances. Things change and that’s okay.”
Does he feel like he missed out on the season of adventure and exploration in his 20s?
“I never feel like I’m missing out on my youth. I recognised early that I could delay some joys. I knew I needed income to get the life outcomes I wanted.”
For Simon, the most difficult part of being a polyworker isn’t the volume of work, it is managing expectations.
“Clients all want different things, maybe a clip, a poster, a piece of content and they all want it in different timeframes. You have to split your time meaningfully, not just for yourself, but for the clients too. That’s how you stay reliable and keep them coming back.”
The pressure to stay productive is real, he admits, and it’s something he feels more acutely as a man. “If you're not doing something, it feels like you're not even engaging yourself,” he says. But for Simon, staying busy is not just about income, it's about growth.
“Constant engagement helps you improve your skills, exercise your mental and physical muscles. The more pressure you can handle, the more responsibility you’re given. And the more responsibility you can take on, the more you scale your value to others, and that leads to better income streams.”
So, is this lifestyle sustainable? According to him, yes—if you’ve mastered time.
“You’ve got to be very strict with your time management. If you do that, you’ll have time for tasks, time for yourself, even time to hit the gym.” He admits that sometimes friendships suffer. “If this week’s priority is getting a certain job done, then time with friends might not happen. That’s life.”
Simon has a practical approach – tackle the hardest task first. “When you’re overwhelmed, the worst thing you can do is postpone. That just snowballs into a bigger mess. If there’s a big task on your plate, clear it. That gives you momentum.”
Social sacrifices are inevitable. He recalls a recent road trip his friends went on that he had to skip. “You can’t be everywhere doing everything. You have to forego some things. Delayed gratification is a real thing, and I’ve embraced that.”
Unlike many Kenyans who feel forced into polyworking by economic strain, Simon sees his multiple jobs as a choice.
“I do it to exercise different skill sets. Digital marketing, content creation, being a TV panelist, voice work, these are all skills I’m building. I’m trying to see which one becomes the foundation to scale me up to the next stage of my life.”
There’s one thing he wishes more people understood about this lifestyle. It requires continuous learning. “When you're juggling different jobs, especially in fields like digital marketing, you constantly have to absorb new knowledge. Whether it's learning how to use AI for content creation or keeping up with trends, you have to evolve to remain useful to your clients.”
Michelle Julius, 21, says she has become braver in her 20s.
At just 21, Michelle is already juggling four income streams, and not in the vague “side hustle” sense. She’s fully embedded in the hospitality and service industry, her work spanning everything from curating cocktail menus to managing vending machines in schools. “I’m the in-house liquid chef at Suecakes Industrial Bistro,” she says, referencing a creative restaurant in Kitengela where she mixes signature drinks and helps plan events. “It’s one of my favourite places to be.”
Beyond Suecakes, Michelle is a designer for a fashion label called Cards, and an event curator who handles everything from weddings to themed parties. She also runs a vending machine business; three machines stocked and operational across different schools in Nairobi. Then there’s Liquid Alchemist, her own private mixology company offering drinks at events, and on top of that, food and beverage consulting, from cocktail trend forecasting to menu creation.
You might think the work would be draining. And yes, Michelle admits that burnout is real. But she’s driven by a creative hunger she’s known since childhood.
“My relationship with money and work began when I was about seven. I would lend my bike to other children for Sh10 for a trip around the field. On good days, I would make Sh70.” That money went to buying chips, crackers and sweets. But what stuck with her wasn’t the snacks, it was the realisation that money could shape experiences.
“When there was money at home, I knew by the snacks I carried to school, the outings, even the clothes we wore.”
There’s one memory she says she’ll never forget. A neighbour once gave her Sh200 to ride her bike all day. She took the cash, but followed him on foot the entire time to make sure he didn’t disappear with it. “That was my first real lesson in risk,” she says with a laugh. “And I’ve been taking calculated risks ever since.”
By the time she turned 18, Michelle was working in a major retail store in Nairobi, interacting with 300 people daily. It taught her about the importance of communication, empathy, and the soft skills many don’t realise are foundational to business. That same year, she started importing and selling shoes, eventually opening a tiny shop at Magic Business Centre.
“It was so small, five people couldn’t fit in it comfortably. But it was mine.”
Her next leap came through Jasiri, an entrepreneurship programme based in Rwanda. After applying and being accepted, she launched Cathy’s Punch, a mobile food truck in Nairobi. “I raised funds through business showers and hired a truck. It did well for a while,” she says, until financial constraints forced her to close it down. Still, she views it as one of her proudest ventures. “It taught me how to manage and reinvest. I grew a lot from that.”
After Rwanda, she shipped in vending machines—an idea sparked by the reality that food, unlike other expenses, is always needed. “You could eat a full meal in the morning and still be hungry at noon. That consistency is a business opportunity.”
Despite her packed calendar, Michelle makes time for rest, friendship, and even silence. “I plan time for joy,” she says matter-of-factly. “Dates, self-care, breathing, prayer, it’s important not to get swept up in the chaos. I also have a very strong support system in my family and friends. They keep me grounded.”
Still, she admits to sometimes feeling isolated, and to carrying guilt about resting when there’s work to be done. “Even on my off-days, I could be at dinner but still have five tabs open in my head. That’s just how it is.
“Explaining what I do is a whole other job,” she jokes. She’s aware that her lifestyle may not mirror that of most 21-year-olds, especially when Instagram paints a picture of spontaneous travel and care-free weekends. “Yeah, there are days I scroll and wonder, should I be out dancing somewhere? But no, I don’t regret it. If I had another life, I’d do it all over again.”
Because for Michelle, it’s not just about money or prestige, it’s about building something real. “I want to create things that reflect who I am, not just for myself or my family, but to inspire others too. Every time I interact with someone and leave them better than I found them, it reminds me why I chose this path.”
