Opinion: ‘Poly-employment’ isn’t just a gen Z buzzword

In an era where economic pressures are increasingly intense, gen Z is once again pioneering a shift in work culture by rebranding the concept of holding multiple jobs. Welcome to ‘poly-employment’.

This may seem like the latest hot LinkedIn phrase being slapped on the gen Z, and even millennial, workforce. But much like ‘Quiet Quitting’, ‘Acting your Wage’ and ‘Bare Minimum Mondays’, it’s important to push beyond the instinct to generalise the alleged work ethic of younger generations.

Instead, let’s take a peek at the economic landscape where these phrases were born.

What is poly-employment?

The concept of ‘poly-employment’ is outlined in an upcoming report by Deputy: The Big Shift: Navigating Australia’s Evolving Employment Landscape.

Dr Shashi Karunanethy, chief economist at Geografia, collaborated on the report. He says that while ‘poly-employment’ is defined as having two or more jobs at once, “it encapsulates a broader trend among younger generations towards diverse, flexible, and multifaceted approaches to work and career development”.

“This trend is driven by a combination of personal preferences, economic realities, and the evolving nature of the job market,” Dr Karunanethy said to SmartCompany.

“Younger generations not only view poly-employment as a way to make ends meet but also as an opportunity to explore different career paths and develop new skills.

“Notions of a single, lifelong career are shifting.”

Deputy released similar findings in the US earlier this month, which analysed the data from over 120,000 shift workers. Deputy found that poly-employment has become increasingly common, particularly among young women, with a marked presence in industries such as hospitality, healthcare, and retail.

Significantly, the report notes a more than two-fold increase in the number of poly-employed shift workers since 2021.

These numbers are important, as are the industries and the timeline.

The concept of having one, two or three jobs isn’t a new one. But if you dig a little deeper into the concept of ‘poly-employment’ there are some distinct differences that reflect the post-pandemic shifts in the workplace.

Poly-employment isn’t just a new work trend

Here in Australia, we’re seeing a similar trend to the US.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) from September 2023 revealed that 6.6% of the Australian workforce – roughly 946,300 people – are working multiple jobs. This is a record high, and it’s increasing.

For workers between the ages of 20 and 24, the number has jumped dramatically – from 111,000 in 2017 to around 194,000 in 2023.

And similar to the US, women are more likely to be working multiple jobs – 7.9% of women do, compared to men, who sit at 5.6%.

Having to hold down multiple roles across retail and hospitality is not quite the same thing as having the luxury of picking and choosing interesting remote work projects to develop one’s skills and explore different career paths.

As a former “poly-employed” person across both of those sectors in the past, I wasn’t doing it for fun. It was to try and pay my rent and bills.

To be fair, I was ambitious and trying to develop my skills as a writer to break into journalism. But freelance writing gigs I picked up at the time were paying roughly $30 a story.

This life certainly didn’t afford me the luxury of writing whenever I felt like it. I was waking up at 4am to file, so I could get to a 7am tutoring job, before my full-time retail work day started. It wasn’t cute or glamorous. And it certainly didn’t feel like I was hacking the system by harnessing the “flexibility” and “diversity” of multiple jobs.

I just needed to eat.

But that was over ten years ago. And the times have significantly changed, even before you take into account the establishment of the gig economy.

The rise of remote work and online skill-building has afforded more opportunities for career development at a younger age. There is more room to experiment, if you’re in a position to do so.

But then there are the raw numbers.

Further data from the ABS shows that the arts and recreation services sector recently had the highest percentage of individuals holding multiple jobs at 9.1%. This is closely followed by the administration and support services at 8.8%. Meanwhile agriculture, forestry and fishing sat at 8.4% and accommodation and food services at 7.8%.

These are all industries that have historically relied on a relatively young workforce.

Then there’s the cost of living. Supermarket prices have reached such a dire state that an inquiry has been launched by the ACCC and the federal government. Meanwhile, the latest housing data shows that the median weekly rent for an apartment in Sydney sits at $750.

This indicates not so much a trend of chasing the dream of flexibility, but a generation of young adults who are struggling to make ends meet.

But now the corporate world has a fun name for it.

“The cost of living, housing affordability and other financial pressures can make it necessary for young people to take on multiple jobs to meet their financial needs,” Dr Karunanethy said.

“According to previous Deputy data, gen Z workers are the most likely to agree that their pay has not kept up with inflation.

“40% of gen Z also selected ‘difficulty in managing fluctuating incomes’ as the one thing they disliked most about shift work, indicating that pay stability was top of mind for gen Z shift workers.”

Dr Karunanethy also said that poly-employment allows people to diversify their income and reduce their reliance on a single employer.

“The same Deputy survey found that gen Z was also most likely to say that they wanted to switch to a new industry, and taking on multiple jobs may serve as a way for gen Z to gain experience in various fields and industries, helping them make more informed career decisions in the future,” Dr Karunanethy added.

And this is true. You’re better equipped to know what you enjoy doing and what you’re good at by trying different jobs.

But, considering the current economic climate, it’s worth considering whether the concept of poly-employment is simply an evolution of the employment landscape. Is it actually simply a sign of the adaptability and resourcefulness of gen Z?

In some cases, sure: gen Z is a savvy bunch.

However, between the rising cost of groceries, unstable rental market and consistent fear around job security perhaps they’re also just trying to achieve a living wage.