I heard that it’s the collective millennial dream to sit in an office and file repetitive paperwork every day. The kind of white collar job where an employee does the same kind of work day after day until they collect their 401k retirement plan money and die — of course, I’m completely kidding.
However, that is what a lot of people who held white collar jobs did before millennials came onto the scene.
They stuck to this rather boring career path in return for company loyalty, working exclusively for their given firm and a consistent nine to five punch card. Many of our generational predecessors worked highly routine-driven jobs, lived relatively comfortable middle-class lives and were content.
But times have changed and millennials are refusing to have anyone boss them around at a monotonous job. Members of our generation want to be their own bosses therefore making free-lance gigs increasingly appealing for us.
The amazing thing about the new freelance economy is that it is making the biggest impact on women.
How? If a woman wants to have children and raise them, she is more or less required to disappear from the corporate world for at least a year. When she returns, precious time has been lost, and although some jobs may allow for part time employees, most corporate environments do not.
I myself can testify to this. As a college student who participates in several clubs, writes for multiple publications and teaches kindergarten at my church, the idea of having a job that requires consistent shifts is tiring. Instead, most of my income comes from paid writing gigs for various publications and content management of a health website: both of these are virtual engagements I complete on my own time.
As said by author Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In” as much as “43 percent of highly qualified women with children are leaving careers or off-ramping for a period of time.”
Many of these women never return to cookie-cutter jobs, opting into the freelance market where they are possibly offered less money, but always promised flexible hours and no incomprehensible bosses.
Millennials are often branded as lazy or disorganized by preceding generations. For instance, writer Anthony Hennen wrote a column for Fox Nation titled, “‘Anti-Work Attitude’: Here’s Why Millennials Are Getting Fired,” where he states that all millennials carry an “anti-work attitude.”
I’m convinced that millennials do want to work, the only difference between us and previous generations is that my generation doesn’t feel like wasting time or doing work we’re not interested in.
According to a survey conducted by multinational professional services network PWC, millennials simply prioritize a work/life balance, a better use of technology and opportunities for growth in their workplace.
In other words, we are not willing to sit in hour-long meetings while colleagues hash out petty office issues or discuss policies that don’t affect us. Instead, we would rather use a Google doc from the comfort of our homes, Skype our bosses in between coffee with friends and take on more work as we have the time. We want to do our work, on our time, in the most efficient manner possible.
In fact, while our parents valued consistency, our generation does not take kindly to being chained to the same desk for the usual 40 hours a week.
According to John Meyer, the founder of digital marketing company 9 Clouds, “millennials are not entitled, but they are impatient. They want things now.”
He’s right. In an age when I can easily order food, call an Uber or rent an apartment directly from my phone, why would I want to commute for an “intensive” training session or go on a “work retreat” when I can complete my tasks quicker on my own time?
As reported by Tech Target, the gig economy is “an environment in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements.”
Freelancing in the gig economy is essentially being your own boss — you hire out your skills to whatever business you want, for as long as you choose.
According to the Freelancers Union, around 55 million Americans – 35 percent of the U.S. workforce – are freelancing. This study shows that the numbers surrounding this new way of working are staggeringly positive, especially for women like myself.
After working in retail job, human resources, and tutoring services, I can confidently say I would not return to a steady 9 to 5 sort of job. Freelancing makes sense to millennials. Instead of working for you, I have decided to work for me.