Z-lancers: Why Gen Z Is Drawn to Project-Based Work

The cliche goes that Zoomers don’t want to work, that they’ve mastered the art of “quiet quitting.” In reality, young professionals are simply playing by their own rules. It's time we understood them.

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In this article, we’ll discuss how Gen Z chooses jobs, why they aren't eager to get full-time positions, and how they excel over other generations. And if we at Mellow convince you to hire Gen Z for a project, you can rest assured we’ll be there to support you every step of the way.

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How Zoomers view work

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In 2023, there were 4 million freelancers in the US, up 2.4% from 2022. One in five of them belonged to Generation Z. That isn’t just a statistical factoid; it represents a new wave of professionals with a new mindset who are changing the labor market as we know it. What can we say about them?

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They want to develop their skills. Lifelong learning is important to Generation Z, and they’re likely to get frustrated at jobs where they don’t feel like they’re getting new skills.

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Zoomer freelancers are more highly educated than their older peers, according to Upwork, and they continue to study after graduating — especially topics like programming, machine learning, and creative design. Taking courses, reading professional literature, and keeping up with trends is common among Gen Z freelancers, 85% of whom say that upskilling is critically important for success.

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They want a healthy work-life balance. The fact that young freelancers put so much stock in upskilling suggests they’re strongly committed to their careers, but there’s a flipside. According to a Key Bank survey, 53% of Gen Z Americans assess success through a soft-life lens, emphasizing happiness, satisfaction, and self-realization — much more than the national average of 36%. Maybe Gen Z is willing to hustle now, but they expect to be able to relax once they’ve established themselves.

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They crave flexibility. The typical office routine feels like a straitjacket to many Zoomers. You may have seen the viral TikTok featuring a young woman horrified at her first 9-to-5 job:

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She’s probably not from the Gen Z segment that’s eager to upskill and take on new projects, but the point remains: Zoomers aren’t crazy about traditional office culture, and many hope that greater productivity can translate to fewer working hours.

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Source: “Gen Z girl finds out what a real job is like” (@brielleybelly123)

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They want to travel. Nearly 30% of Zoomers plan to work and travel simultaneously, riding the digital nomad train. In 2024, there were 18.1 million digital nomads in the US, or 11% of the entire workforce — a whopping 20% increase over 2023. If you hire a Gen Z freelancer, there’s a decent chance they’ll be joining Zoom calls from various cities.

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They want to be happy. Generation Z prefers to slow down and prioritizes self-care over the relentless pursuit of success. Their skepticism towards older attitudes to work is evident in a number of TikTok trends.

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There’s "lazy girl jobs," which celebrates work that doesn’t take up all of your time, especially for women who also have caregiving responsibilities. Then there’s the anti-hustle "snail-girl era,” as in "Hot take of the week, my inner girlboss is dead and my 'snail girl' era has begun." 

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Marisa Jo Mayes, a digital content creator and startup founder, became popular on TikTok after posting about her "Bare Minimum Mondays,” where she sets herself a maximum of three tasks on Monday.

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Finally, there’s the hashtag #boredatwork, used when Gen Z realizes their dream jobs are often more mundane than expected.

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One TikToker posted a video of herself spinning in an office chair, saying:

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"When you get your first corporate job, but you're progressing at a faster pace than expected and have nothing to do half the time. I'm bored."

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They want financial stability. According to Fiverr, 45% of Zoomers prioritize financial stability. Gen Z doesn't care much about office snacks and other benefits that are important to millennials. Their first priority is more fundamental: "How about a salary you can live on?"

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However, money isn't the only thing Gen Z cares about: 86% of Zoomers and 89% of millennials say that having a sense of purpose is also important for their job satisfaction and overall well-being, unlike baby boomers and Generation X.

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They are building careers outside traditional employment. Nearly 20% hope to retire early after earning enough money to enjoy life. One expression of this is the FIRE movement (“Financial Independence, Retire Early”), which encourages people to spend less and invest more.

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Why many Zoomers prefer freelancing

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Full-time jobs no longer guarantee stability. In just the first few months of 2024, around 90,000 employees got laid off from over 300 tech companies, not to mention the automotive, education, and healthcare sectors. For Gen Z, full-time work no longer seems reliable.

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On the other hand, freelancers' earnings continue to grow: the number of freelancers who earned more than $100K a year increased by 5% in 2023, reaching 4.6 million. Freelancing, which can involve taking on multiple projects across different companies, is appealing as a way to diversify income sources. Even if one project gets cut, you still have others.

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Earnings are a priority. Debt is a significant issue for Gen Zers: many have student loans, and they appear to rely more on credit cards. Salary expectations often surpass actual wages. This is another reason freelancing is appealing to younger people: you can take on multiple projects and earn more than your full-time counterparts, so the thinking goes.

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Take 23-year-old blogger Grace Ryu, who says she works on nine freelance projects, earns $96,000 a year, and has sworn she’ll "never work 9 to 5 again."

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They have the skills for complex tasks. Many Gen Z freelancers are more experienced than their office counterparts. According to Upwork, about 30% of Zoomer freelancers have been working 40+ hours a week for over two years. Because of their exposure to various projects, freelancers constantly encounter new challenges and improve their skills.

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39% of Zoomer freelancers fall into a category Upwork calls “Portfolio Careerists.” This is the most high-skilled classification: these freelancers have diverse portfolios, are better educated, possess strong internal motivation, and are optimistic about the future.

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How US companies work with Gen Z: Mellow statistics

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In 2023, over half of Mellow’s global business clients (55%) hired Gen Z professionals for project-based work. This trend was particularly prominent in the US, Cyprus, the UAE, Estonia, and the UK. These young professionals filled a diverse range of roles, from keyboard operators and software developers to more traditional positions such as managers and teachers. Many Zoomers were also brought on as content creators, with some even taking on roles as art critics.

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The collaboration often crossed international borders. Talented professionals from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Latin America completed projects for companies worldwide. Mexico, in particular, emerged as a hotbed for youth freelancing, with a staggering 3,500% increase in job seekers from the country in just one year. The average monthly rate for professionals from these regions is approximately €120.

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Freelancers aged 18-27 make up 34% of Mellow's talent pool. They predominantly work in such fields as:

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Demand varies by country. For instance, US companies show high interest in:

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Mellow simplifies working with professionals across generations. Whether you need a Gen Z machine-learning expert or a project manager with two decades of experience, we provide comprehensive contractor management services to support your business needs.