Gen Zers are juggling multiple roles in addition to their full-time jobs to support passion projects and professional growth, says RLF Communications’ Anna Beth Miles in her recent op-ed featured in PRWeek‘s Gen Zeitgeist.
My work day doesn’t start at nine and end at five. Some mornings, my first shift of the day begins at 5:45 a.m., rolling into the local YMCA in workout gear to lead a group fitness class before heading into the office to serve my clients as a full-time account executive.
Other days, when I log off at 5 p.m., it’s straight to teaching a Barre, yoga sculpt or strength class. On many Saturday mornings, instead of sleeping in, I flip open my laptop to write stories for Topsail Magazine or one of the five other publications I freelance for on the side.
These pursuits aren’t just about extra fun money. They’re passion projects — ways to decompress physically and mentally from the sometimes around-the-clock demands of PR. They help me build confidence, creativity and skills that ultimately help me show up better in my full-time role, from writing and editing to public speaking, community engagement and managing time effectively.
And I’m far from alone in these pursuits. Stats show more than half of Gen Zers juggle a second gig — or two — in addition to their day job, including me. A September Harris Poll found that 57% of working Gen Z adults earn income outside of their primary job, compared with just 21% of older generations.
While economic uncertainty certainly plays a part in this uptick, the trend also reflects Gen Z’s growing desire for flexibility, independence and diversity in their work. A separate study by Citizens Financial Group found that two-thirds of adults between ages 18 to 34 are actively leveraging digital platforms and the gig economy to take control over their professional lives via some sort of entrepreneurial venture.
So what does this mean for the future of work?
The multi-income surge has been dubbed “side stacking,” by Forbes. The trend predicts that employers will steadily grow to see the importance of “verified gig work” as part of career development, and that those secondary sources of income could one day boost an employee closer to a promotion at their full-time job.
In an industry like PR where the workday doesn’t always end when the clock hits 5 p.m., my ability to juggle multiple roles depends on strong communication, proactiveness, planning and a team of trustworthy coworkers. It also hitches on holding true to boundaries and off time in order to avoid burnout. For me, that means consistently protecting my Sundays for rest and family and friend time.
Beyond the PR industry, I’ve seen the side stacking trend play out constantly among my friends and peers. I can name a full-time civil engineer who spends summer weekends working ocean rescue shifts; a nonprofit exhibits curator who choreographs evenings and weekends for a dance company; a full-time graphic designer who takes on side design projects in her free time and a marketing coordinator who earns extra income reviewing products on Amazon.
For Gen Z, side hustles aren’t distractions from our “real” jobs — they’re extensions of them. In an industry that prizes adaptability and creativity, juggling multiple roles may soon be less an outlier and more an asset.
Anna Beth Miles is an account executive at RLF Communications. Find her op-ed also published in PRWeek here.
