Hidden Britain: the creative side hustles of essential workers
Extra money can be a great thing, especially when it’s generated from something you love doing. The financial outcome isn’t the only focus, though. While praise has been given to essential workers all over the UK, some have been investing their energy and time into creativity.
Spare time has been treasured by some and overlooked by others. The pandemic lockdowns have provided a period of reflection and respite whether being able to work or not. While many have been struggling to fill up their days by meandering between baking, breeding, and buying, many have been keeping this island afloat. The backbone of the UK, the NHS, has been overwhelmed. Food delivery and distribution have been stretched, supermarket staff abused and belittled.
The ‘essential workers’ title has been tossed through controversies of who is required to go to work when the nation is being told to stay at home. The boundary line of whether parents are able to send their children to school or not is blurred. U-turns and back-tracking have been solidified in the government’s responses to the public.
A list of key workers describes the jobs as ‘vital to public health and safety’. Those who work within the NHS in all roles, education and childcare, food and other necessary goods, public services, local and national government, transport, and security.
There’s a bloke who sits in an office at the tallest point of the political hierarchy and earns a triple-figure salary with added benefits. Those receiving applauses on a Thursday evening, is all they’re getting. Many have argued against the Clap for Carers and NHS Heroes. There has been raised commotion for NHS and health and social care workers to receive a pay rise.
Lauren, an AMU nurse for a hospital in the Midlands, disagrees with the hero statement. “We’ve always looked after people, always worked under stress, always been prepared and as a team we’ve stuck together. I can’t believe it’s taken a full-blown pandemic for healthcare to be appreciated for the work we do and risks we put ourselves at every day. We’re doing our jobs.”
It makes sense to have hobbies alongside full-time jobs. You are not your job title. Your work doesn’t define you. Your personality, character and interests have a part to play in that instead. In his book about unlocking creativity, Steal Like An Artist, Austin Kleon writes that ‘a hobby is something creative that’s just for you… something that gives but doesn’t take’. Yet, he also said the side project is where the magic happens.
Through the enjoyment and progression in the craft you develop, it’s justifiable that making money from it soon becomes an advantage to your finances and wellbeing. Here, the creative side hustle is born. Although earning money from a side hustle isn’t the aim for many, it helps in configuring a sense of security and a top-up of much-needed serotonin knowing people will buy your creations. Whether it’s monetary gain or relaxation and motivation, their creative hustles are instrumental to the people behind the masks (pun fully intended).
“It’s a way to wind down after a shift – nothing more relaxing than a glass or two of wine and a ball of wool”
There are some essential workers who are coping by using their skills in other fields. Lauren calls herself a ‘recreational hooker’ – a crocheter. “Nothing’s better than coming home to family time. I can sit and crochet, my boyfriend plays on his PlayStation. It’s a way to wind down after a shift – nothing more relaxing than a glass or two of wine and a ball of wool”. Starting in 2019, What Lauren Made was the birth of self-taught YouTube sessions to make one-off gifts for her ‘baby-making machine’ friends.
Originally, the 27-year-old didn’t know what sort of career she wanted until distant family visited. “I never really knew what I wanted to do until the final year of sixth form. About 3 months before my final exams, there was a visit from relatives from Ireland and one was a nurse. So, I just decided I’m going to be a nurse”.
Oftentimes it’s a similar process of a side hustle developing. Initially what started out as a bit of fun can turn into a small business. Your attitude may not be money-oriented, but this outcome definitely amplifies the drive to create and provides purpose.
“Creativity is definitely what helps me function”
In 2018, around two-fifths of all UK workers had a side hustle. This statistic is increasing daily through the pandemic as people are acting quickly to cover bills and add security. The causes? Furlough and redundancy. In the UK, recent unemployment rates have risen to as much as 5%. However, the ability to invest more time and effort into a creative hobby has been an outlet for managing anxiety and being a useful outlet for winding down.
“Creativity is definitely what helps me function and I’ve relied on it more heavily since the pandemic”, says mental health practitioner, Shoshanna. “It’s been the only time me and my partner ever had time at the same time to work on music. I sing and write, and he produces and DJs. We couldn’t perform but we used our time to create more music.”
Previously a volunteer at a charity for young children and a degree in psychology under her belt, the 25-year-old paired her passions of singing and writing to start Therapeutic Creative Writing. The front page encompasses a quote: “creative writing is a window into unspoken feelings and thoughts”.
What was once a private activity in a journal, Shoshanna provides a gateway for others to acknowledge their emotions. Especially useful during a time of increased loneliness, hopelessness and anxiety. A recent survey by Mental Health Foundation found half of UK adults are worried about being able to cope with the uncertainty of the pandemic.
Despite statistics presenting a grim situation, the essential workers who you would have thought would have lost most faith, have broken through the heaviness of their work thanks to their side hustles.
The therapeutic practitioner spoke about her own struggles with anxiety and how keeping occupied has helped her. “For me, I was struggling with anxiety a lot before the pandemic. Having time away from the world and having extra time to do creative stuff has helped me balance my mental health with the stresses of my job a lot better. I’m a lot less anxious now than I was before.”