Nearly six in ten Gen Z professionals have side hustles or parallel jobs, according to a survey by Harris Poll in partnership with Glassdoor. The percentage is higher than in any other generation, highlighting a shift in how young people view professional ambition.
For previous generations, the path to success usually involved climbing the corporate ladder, earning promotions, and eventually reaching the coveted corner office. Gen Z has little interest in following that same script. Instead, they channel their energy into personal projects, freelance work, and ventures outside of traditional employment.
This doesn’t mean a lack of ambition. What changes is the focus: for this generation, the goal is often not tied to titles and positions but to freedom, flexibility, and the creation of multiple income streams that give them greater control over their future.
Why Gen Z is Rejecting the Corporate Ladder
A Glassdoor survey shows that 68% of Gen Z professionals would not accept management positions without a significant increase in salary or status. Without these incentives, leadership roles are no longer as attractive as they once were. Instead of chasing prestige, young people are more focused on building sustainable careers.
Experts call this movement career minimalism. The idea is to avoid unnecessary stress in environments that often don’t reward loyalty. Having seen older generations face burnout, mass layoffs, and distrust in corporate leadership, younger workers prefer to diversify their options rather than bet everything on traditional corporate ascension.
“We traded the rigid corporate ladder for a career where we can jump to the opportunity that makes the most sense at the time,” says Morgan Sanner, a career specialist at Glassdoor. For this generation, success is synonymous with balance, security, and autonomy—not climbing higher within a single company.
How Side Hustles Became the New Goal
The traditional career path had a clear script: climb the corporate ladder, reach a leadership position, manage teams, and accumulate status symbols. Success was linear, predictable, and measured by how high one rose within an organization.
Today, it looks different. Harris Poll data reveals that 57% of Gen Z professionals have side hustles, compared to 48% of millennials, 31% of Gen X, and 21% of baby boomers. For younger professionals, this isn’t just extra income. It’s a strategy that provides what traditional jobs often can’t: creativity, autonomy, and authenticity.
Many describe this logic as “the 9-to-5 funds the 5-to-9”—a steady job finances entrepreneurial projects. It’s a shift in values compared to past generations, who sought security in corporate loyalty. Gen Z finds it in building portfolios and diversifying income streams.
How AI and Job Insecurity Fuel This Shift
The impact of AI on job security concerns
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how Gen Z views professional stability. According to Glassdoor, 70% of young professionals believe AI puts the long-term security of their jobs in doubt. The concern is legitimate: as they watch automation spread across areas like customer service, content creation, and data analysis, it’s clear that no role is immune to technological disruption.
Gen Z is building what economists call portfolio careers: a mix of full-time employment with freelancing, digital products, consulting, or small businesses. This diversification offers the financial security and flexibility that a career tied to a single employer can’t provide.
Risk management
In this context, diversifying options becomes a logical response. If the main job can be automated, multiple income streams serve as a safety net. What some critics see as a lack of ambition may actually be a risk management strategy.
What Gen Z Managers Teach Us About Balance
This doesn’t mean Gen Z professionals never seek leadership positions. When they do, they bring different philosophies. Glassdoor research shows that they practice what some experts call conscious unbossing—abandoning authoritarian leadership in favor of collaborative and flexible workplaces.
The numbers confirm this shift: 31% of Gen Z managers see flexible schedules as a standard practice. They tend to prioritize team well-being rather than focus solely on productivity metrics.
This leadership style reflects broader values around integrating personal and professional life. Raised in a tech-driven world that blurred these boundaries, they understand the importance of setting healthy limits. They value concrete results over the “cult of exhaustion.”
In addition, these younger leaders are generally more comfortable with remote work, flexible schedules, and results-driven metrics. For them, success is measured by outcomes, not hours in the office.
What Other Generations Can Learn
Gen Z’s approach offers lessons for professionals of all ages. Their focus on boundaries, mental health, and income diversification points toward a more sustainable model of career success.
Here are five takeaways any professional can apply:
- Build a portfolio career: even with a full-time job, extra income streams provide financial security and creative space—through consulting, digital products, or personal projects.
- Treat AI as an ally, not a threat: Gen Z tends to integrate AI into routines to boost productivity. Knowing how to use technology becomes a competitive advantage.
- Prioritize mental health and clear boundaries: separating personal life and work ensures long-term sustainability. Lowering expectations during certain periods isn’t unprofessional—it’s a well-being strategy.
- Focus on results, not hours: measuring success by output, not office time, increases both productivity and satisfaction.
- Redefine career minimalism: chasing only titles and positions may cost too much in personal life. Defining success more broadly can be smarter.
Source: Forbes
