By Zuleikha Salim
When Brenda Anyango closes her office laptop at 5:00pm, her real day begins.
She races home, not to rest, but to prepare dough for queen cakes. By 7:00 pm, she's packaging, and coordinating deliveries with a bodaboda rider.
On weekends, she trains models at Mama Grace Onyango Social Hall in Kisumu, and at times chases down late payments.
Brenda has two degrees, a full-time job, and more grit than most. But like millions of Kenyans, one job just isn’t enough.
“We’ve become a nation of hustlers. Everyone’s baking, thrifting, coding, consulting, flipping land, selling mitumba, or trading crypto. We glorify it on social media, toast to it at events, and tell our children that the future belongs to the multi-income stream generation,” she says.
But behind the models’ success stories lies another reality: people are exhausted — mentally, physically, and emotionally drained.
Hustling is no longer a choice; it’s a survival mechanism. With the cost of living rising, jobs scarce, and salaries stagnant, many Kenyans are doing side gigs just to keep the lights on. The hustle is no longer a dream, it’s a demand.
Ask any bodaboda rider who sells eggs on the side, or the teacher running a weekend salon. They’ll tell you this isn’t about passion. It’s about pressure. And the pressure is heavy.
This culture of nonstop work has consequences. Family time is disappearing, and mental issues are on the upward trajectory. Young people are burning out before they even turn thirty. And yet, we still celebrate the grind, reward the sleepless nights, and equate struggle with success.
But must we always be busy to feel valuable? Should every hobby become a side gig? Is a rest day now a luxury only the wealthy can afford?
There’s a danger in romanticizing the hustle too much. When society normalizes overwork, it takes the spotlight off the real problem: a broken system.
A system where hard work no longer guarantees dignity. Where effort outpaces reward. Where even the most educated and skilled can’t afford to live on one job.
We need to stop and ask: who benefits from this hustle economy? Are we building empires, or just surviving burnout with style?
Hustling has become our identity but it shouldn’t be our burden alone. We need policies that protect workers, pay that reflects inflation, and a culture that values balance as much as ambition.
Until then, Brenda and many others will keep flipping queen cakes by moonlight, chasing that elusive second income and a little peace.
