Gen Z doesn’t want your full-time job. They want several part-time roles, and it’s reshaping the entire workforce |
Gen Z doesn’t want your full-time job. They want several part-time roles, and it’s reshaping the entire workforce
The full-time job is often the most coveted form of work for employees; it often ensures stability, benefits, close relationships, and with time, it often guarantees more freedom.
But Gen Z is ditching that workplace ideal. A new study from workforce management firm Deputy entitled “The Big Shift 2026” found that poly-employment, or what the firm calls as working multiple jobs simultaneously, has hit its highest point in over a decade. The study—drawing from more than 41 million shifts and 268 million hours worked—finds Gen Z is leading the way in poly-employment, composing more than half (55%) of those engaged in the practice.
While many workers are turning to poly-employment to supplement their income among economic uncertainty and rising cost-of-living pressures, the data reveals a growing divide between those forced into it and those choosing independence, as more workers are intentionally seeking multiple roles to gain the flexible and self-directed work they increasingly prioritize. It’s also a deliberate switch from an ongoing trend of overemployment, or holding multiple full-time jobs, that still keeps a person tied to their desk. While that practice does come with a higher take-home pay, it doesn’t........