Increasingly, millennials are looking for a side job to supplement their earnings from their full-time job. The gig economy is taking shape because of the millennial generation that wants to have flexibility and more control over their work hours. Looking for a second job and simultaneously working on both the full-time “gig” and the part-time “gig” has turned into the new normal especially among millennials and Gen Z.

About 58 percent of the world’s millennials live in Asia, thus making the region one of the places in the world that need to adapt to the demands and needs of the generation that will account for about half of the global workforce by 2020, according to a PwC report on Millennials at work: Reshaping the workplace in financial services in Asia.

In the APAC region, talent and hiring managers are buying into the burgeoning gig economy with about 84 percent of talent managers using “gig workers” in various roles. They are adopting the freelance culture faster than their global counterparts. Thus fueling the freelance economy across the region.

Deloitte observed that a larger proportion of income in a millennial household comes from side-jobs and freelance work. According to the Deloitte Millennial Survey 2018, about 62 percent of the millennials who said they would leave their current employers in the next two years said they would choose to work in the gig economy as an alternative career option to performing full-time jobs.

As the global business climate continues to evolve because of geopolitical and socioeconomic forces in the region, about 79 percent of managers in APAC prefer to employ a flexible workforce.

Bankrate cites the need for “disposable income” as one of the major reasons for the millennials’ affinity toward freelancing and gig economy. Having a side hustle also has an important side-effect. Young workers are more likely to develop alternative skills that would expand their learning and thus increasing their employability across various sectors.

Regional takeaway

As millennials and Gen Z workers begin to make up a larger proportion of the global workforce, talent managers and HR leaders need to take notice of the needs and demands of these generations. The need for additional disposable income in order to maintain a certain quality of life in a demanding economy motivates millennials towards the gig economy. Expanding capabilities and the need for flexibility are some factors that need to be incorporated within the corporate cultures so that companies can capitalize on the talent in the millennial and Gen Z workforce.