The 'slash' career: Why more and more people are holding down several jobs at once
One person, three careers: UX designer / Female Founders consultant / podcast host. What lies behind the trend towards multiple careers – and what slashers really need. by Lea Albring |
For many people with multiple careers, flexible working locations are an important part of their daily working lives.
In the co-working space: on the screen are three designs for an app developed by a Berlin-based mobility start-up. Two days later, at the same desk: now the focus is on investment matters and pitch deck feedback for a group of female founders. Friday, working from home, mic on: recording episode 47 of her own podcast.
Three roles, one person.
What was seen ten years ago as “not being able to make up one’s mind” is now a strategy: the slash career. Instead of a linear career path, several streams of work develop in parallel. Why this trend is no longer just a lifestyle phenomenon, what studies say about it, and what it takes for slashing to really work.
The key points in 30 seconds
Around 4.1 million people in employment in Germany have at least one other job
60% of all start-ups are part-time ventures
AI is changing skill requirements in affected professions 66% faster
Slash careers need clear structures: professional addresses, spaces and roles
Business addresses and co-working spaces as a pragmatic professional base
Slash's career: What lies behind the slash
The term originates from the English-speaking world. People who hold several professional roles simultaneously separate them on their business cards with a slash: Designer / Consultant / Podcaster. It was coined by the US journalist Marci Alboher in her book *One Person / Multiple Careers* (2007). The debate reached Germany later, but with a bang.
Important: Slasher:s are not people juggling multiple jobs out of necessity, nor are they classic side hustler:s. The subtle but crucial differences:
Slasher: Several consciously chosen activities, often interlinked in terms of content: strategy rather than a stopgap.
Multi-jobber: Primarily economically motivated, holding several jobs to secure an income.
Side hustler: Uses a side project to test or scale a business idea, with the option to transition to full-time self-employment.
The transition is fluid. Many slashers start out as side hustlers before their side project develops into a separate second source of income.
From a niche trend to the new normal: the figures
What sounds like a Berlin creative bubble has, statistically speaking, long since become mainstream.
According to the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the number of people with multiple jobs in Germany has more than doubled over the past 20 years and now stands at around 4.1 million.
The KfW Start-up Monitor also shows just how widespread the model is: 60% of all start-ups in Germany are run as a sideline. That equates to 328,000 out of 550,000 start-ups per year.
A look across the border reveals where the trend is heading: in France, around 16% of the working population are already considered slashers.
In short: slashing is no longer just a big-city lifestyle, but a structural shift in people’s working lives.
Why now, of all times? Four drivers of the slash trend
Shifting values: meaning trumps status
Younger generations seek fulfilment across multiple areas rather than in a single job title. A single career is often not enough to accommodate all their interests, values and talents.
Remote work and location-independent structures
Without the need for daily attendance, it is easier to balance multiple roles. Those who work flexibly can decouple tasks in terms of time and place – and thus combine them in the first place.
AI as a task consolidator
This is where it gets interesting: according to the PwC AI Jobs Barometer 2025, the skills required in professions heavily affected by AI are changing 66% faster than in those less affected.
AI does not automate entire professions, but rather parts of tasks, thereby freeing up space for combinations that were previously impossible in terms of time.
The platform economy lowers barriers to entry
Substack, Notion, Stripe, LinkedIn: tools that would previously have required an entire team can now run on a single laptop. This makes it possible to build a second career in parallel without five-figure investments.
Opportunities and risks: Being a slasher isn’t a sure-fire success
As exciting as slashing sounds, the pitfalls are clear.
Advantages
→ Multiple income streams increase resilience: if one source of income is lost, the others make up for it.
→ Transferring skills between roles creates competitive advantages that single-specialist professionals lack.
→ Personal fulfilment through scope for multiple interests and talents.
Caution
→ Time and energy management becomes a core competence, not just a soft skill.
→ Tax, social security, employment law: every activity has its own set of rules.
→ Without clear structures, roles become blurred, and with them, economic success.
Please note: Keep a clear distinction between your main job and your side hustle
A side agreement with your employer, separate accounts, a separate business address: anyone who is employed and self-employed at the same time should keep the two clearly separate. Our article provides a detailed checklist on this: 10 tips for starting a business alongside a full-time job.
What slash careers really need: infrastructure rather than improvisation
One person, three roles …and a home address for everything? No way! This is exactly where your public image falls down. If you want to establish multiple professional streams of income, you need professional structures that can grow with you.
A business address instead of a home address: A reputable business address in the legal notice signals professionalism to clients and protects your private home address from public online searches.
Flexible workspaces instead of a lease: A co-working space can be shared across all activities, without any single role having to bear the fixed costs alone. Meeting rooms are available for client appointments, easily bookable at any Office Club location.
Virtual office for slashers with company registration: Anyone setting up a limited company (GmbH) or start-up (UG) for one of their main streams of income needs an official business address. A virtual office from Office Club covers this in a practical way, without having to pay high rental costs.
Pro tip: Keep your activities separate organisationally too: one address, one email account, one calendar per role. This makes day-to-day life easier and your tax affairs much clearer.
Conclusion: These days, a career is often not enough
Slash careers are not a stopgap measure, but a resilience strategy for the AI era.
The figures speak for themselves: around 4.1 million people with multiple jobs in Germany alone.
For slashing to work, structure is needed: separate roles, separate spaces, separate addresses.
One person, multiple streams of income? A professional address is all you need. With a business address from Office Club, every slash career looks professional – without the need for your own office, without your home address in the legal notice, and without long-term leases.
