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Millennials Are “Stability Stacking”
Stack it up // Image by Kait Cunniff with DALL-E
Millennials are holding down multiple jobs not because they need the money, but because they know the rug could be pulled out from under them at any time.
Why It Hits: Most millennials haven’t had the benefit of a career safety net due to multiple financial crises, technological disruption, and record student debt. As the largest generation in the workforce enters what are supposed to be their prime earning years (and prime expense years), making sure they’re protected from a surprise layoff has become a financial imperative.
Between The Jobs: A new report from Glassdoor found that millennials are “stability stacking.”
Insider defines stability stacking as “taking on multiple income streams, skills training, and other jobs outside their primary work to feel more secure.”
Most stability stackers are middle-class, college-educated earners — the exact demographic that should be working just one job (and maybe a side hustle).
That means stability stacking is seen a bit like an insurance policy against an uncertain and changing job market. That feels especially true as AI becomes a bigger part of nearly every industry.
Glassdoor senior economist Chris Martin also noted that stability stacking can involve “building a network that’s adjacent to your career or in a different field altogether, so that you have a network you can draw on should your job go away and job prospects in your industry or your occupation start drying up.”
Final Project: Stability stacking makes sense, given that Glassdoor found that over three-quarters of millennials are “questioning their career path” and a majority are “delaying milestones because of that uncertainty.” While stability stacking is a great way to hedge against going down a single career path that could seemingly disappear at any moment, it also takes a lot of effort to work multiple jobs, network, and build new skills.
No wonder millennials are also experiencing the most burnout.
The Future: Expect some people to go down two different career paths, only to eventually combine them to land their dream job… or just something that pays the bills.
Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.