BABY BOOMERS NOW HOLD MULTIPLE JOBS TO MAKE ENDS MEET

While working remotely during the pandemic, many Gen Zers grabbed the opportunity to hold down multiple jobs—or polywork—often behind their employers’ backs. But now baby boomers have taken a leaf out of Gen Z’s book.

New research shows that they’re now the generation most likely to be pulling a second or third after-work shift.

The remote-working services platform Startfleet analyzed U.S. labor statistics and found that some 1,303,000 people aged between 55 and 64 worked multiple jobs at once in 2023.

The study notes that the age range has a small overlap with Gen Xers but that the majority are baby boomers. 

Gen Z is the second most likely generation to be working two jobs (or more) at once.

However with 700,000 people young people polyworking, that’s still barely more than half the number of baby boomers turning to secondary jobs.

Previous research showed that Gen Z in their masses were turning to side hustles, economy gigs, and secondary full-time jobs during the pandemic.

At the time, baby boomers were the least likely generation to be taking on extra work. So, what’s changed?

Instead of winding down, research has consistently shown, there’s a growing cohort of senior workers who are unretiring. But Startfleet’s research adds more color to the picture: They’re not just dusting off their suits and returning to work, they’re doing even more work than those starting out in their careers.

It’s a trend that Lewis Maleh, CEO of the global recruitment agency Bentley Lewis, says he has witnessed.

“People are doing what they need to do to survive,” he tells Fortune. “With the rise in inflation and the cost of living increasing in most places in the world, it’s not surprising that for the vast majority of people, retirement is just a dream.”

Another reason why baby boomers may be taking on extra work is because they’re not earning quite what they used to—yet their outgoings aren’t going anywhere.

By Orianna Rosa Royle ///msn.com