Most Gen Z Workers Think The Career Ladder Is Dead

Person on ladderI’d argue that some of the so-called Gen Z working “trends”, like “taskmasking” – looking, but not being, busy – are not so much fads as time-honoured office traditions. But what might genuinely be unique to the age group is “income stacking,” or the increasing need to secure multiple forms of payment in order to stay afloat. According to research conducted by a bastion of the gig economy, Fiverr, 54% of Gen Z and Gen Alpha believe traditional employment will become obsolete. As a result, 67% say they think they’d need to rely on multiple smaller streams of income, rather than one job, to pay the bills. Why don’t younger people believe in traditional career paths? Well, part of it may be that entry-level jobs are disappearing, Fiverr says. And as many careers, even in industries deemed especially “safe” as little as five years ago, become unstable, only 14% say they’d be interested in working for an established company.That makes traditional paths of employment – ie starting at the “bottom” of a single company, staying there for years, and landing a more senior position – sound less and less likely as the “job hopping” generation enters the workforce. As Forbes put it, Gen Z are picking the career “lily pad” over the more established, but vanishing, “ladder”. In fact, the Next Gen Of Work study, which was run with Censuswide and involved over 12,000 young people from all over the world, found that Gen Z and Gen Alpha face “single paycheck panic”. What is “single paycheck panic”?Michelle Baltrusitis, Associate Director of Community and Social Impact at Fiverr, said: “Gen Z isn’t rejecting work; they’re redefining it. “Faced with economic uncertainty, Gen Z is experiencing what we’re calling ‘single-paycheck panic’ – they’re diversifying income streams because relying on one job feels too risky.“Instead of waiting for stability, they’re betting on themselves by embracing freelancing and building financial resilience as the smarter path forward.” I, for one, find it hard not to link that news to the damning stats showing immense burnout among Gen Z workers.Related...What Is 'Workslop,' The AI Trend Workers Hate?What Working Dads Won't Tell You, But Wish You KnewI Was The Black Woman In A Mostly White Office. Now I Fear White Liberals More Than Overt Racists.

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