Aussie reveals reason her boss screamed at her in 2016 over something that has now become normal

A young worker has revealed the increasingly common act that ended in her boss screaming at her.

In 2016, Chelsea Rae’s boss screamed at her over something that has become increasingly common by 2025.

Ms Rae’s dressing down was because she’d started a side hustle outside of work hours and not asked permission.

That might sound like a wild response, but at the time, working multiple jobs wasn’t normal and there was more of an expectation for Aussies to devote themselves to just one job.

Nowadays, side hustles are seen as normal, and it feels like everyone and their dog is doing something extra to make cash. Financial comparison website Finder reported that 35 per cent of Australians have a side hustle.

Ms Rae, 33, was an early adopter of the idea that one’s only source of income doesn’t have to be a corporate job.

When she was in her early twenties, she worked full-time in administration. After buying a house, she decided to start an eyelash business on the side to earn extra cash.

She wanted the opportunity to make more money, but she also craved a space to be creative.

“I was working full-time and it got to a point where it was draining me,” she told news.com.au.

Ms Rae started her side hustle to make money and be more creative. Picture:Instagram/chelseerae

She was yelled at over it. Picture:Instagram/chelseerae

Ms Rae’s solution was to drop down to part-time and start a side hustle to earn extra cash.

She didn’t disclose the reason she wanted to work fewer hours to her boss at the time because there was no conflict of interest, and she didn’t think it was her employer’s business. She got the go-ahead to work reduced hours and went about her business.

It ended in disaster, though.

Her boss found out about the side hustle because one of her clients told her and then all hell broke loose.

“She came into my office and went ham just yelling at me that I didn’t tell her.” she explained.

“She was so mad.”

She’d recently bought a home so she needed the money. Picture: iStock

Ms Rae said she was accused of going behind her manager’s “back” even though she was running her business outside of office hours.

The 33-year-old said she couldn’t believe the audacity and thought, “Are you joking?” She didn’t feel like she’d done anything wrong.

The worst part was that she’d just bought a house so she needed to keep her job.

“I couldn’t just get up and quit,” she said.

She’s since gone on to run a successful photography business. Picture:Instagram/chelseerae

She has zero side hustle regrets. Picture:Instagram/chelseerae

Ms Rae said it was all ridiculous because she’d been given “permission” to drop her hours and only when her boss found out what she was doing in her spare time did she actually take issue with it.

After the incident, she stuck with the job but only until she found a better option. Despite the flack she coped with at the time, Ms Rae has no regrets about starting a side hustle.

“It was a huge help,” she said.

It also went beyond getting ahead in her mortgage. She developed a whole new “skillset,” which ultimately led to her running her successful photography business now.

“I made the side hustle my full-time business. It gave me the opportunity to switch careers,” she explained.

Ms Rae said people used to not talk about side hustles because it was seen as “going against” your employer.

However, she’s noticed that shift because of social media, and she’s thrilled to see it become more acceptable.

“Having your own business and side hustle. It opens up so many different avenues, both financially and financially. It gave me the opportunity to develop and earn,” she said.

“Instead of just doing admin for the rest of my life. I had this whole new skillset.”

Originally published as Aussie reveals reason her boss screamed at her in 2016 over something that has now become normal