Nearly eight in 10 Gen Z workers have or seek extra income

Approximately 72% prioritise pay that keeps pace with living costs.

Nearly eight in 10 (77%) young Singapore workers aged 18 to 29 have or are seeking additional sources of income, with 42% already holding side hustles outside their main jobs.

The trend is more prevalent amongst young men, according to a report commissioned by Deel, with 48% holding side hustles compared with 34% of women.

Young parents are also more likely to take on additional work, at 53%, compared with 38% of those without children.

The survey of 1,045 working Singaporeans found that pay keeping pace with living costs was their top job priority, cited by 72% of respondents.

This was followed by workplace flexibility (51%), learning and development opportunities (49%), and job security (46%).

Financial instability was also the most commonly cited workplace concern, affecting almost half (49%) of respondents, followed by burnout at 46%. Overall, 92% reported at least one job-related concern.

The study found that young workers are placing greater emphasis on boundaries between work and personal life, with only 27% giving everything to progress in their current roles.

Meanwhile, 29% preferred to perform their jobs well strictly within set working hours. About 49% included having a job they could leave at the office amongst their 10-year career goals, whilst 29% wanted to lead a team.

Financial security was the leading long-term goal, cited by 71%, followed by homeownership at 60%. Approximately 32% wanted to start a business and 23% identified self-employment as their preferred way of working.

Despite these preferences, 82% said they felt trusted to work without micromanagement. However, 71% felt expected to be grateful simply to have a job, whilst 47% believed their leaders viewed their generation as entitled or lazy.

The findings also pointed to potential retention challenges for employers, with 21% of respondents identifying working overseas as a 10-year career goal.

Karen Ng, Regional Head of Expansion & Market Lead for Singapore, Hong Kong, ASEAN, and India at Deel, said employers should assess younger workers based on their contributions rather than working hours.

"Gen Z is ambitious, just not by traditional measures. They deliver through technology and autonomy, yet workplaces interpret boundaries as laziness. That contradiction is a retention crisis," Ng said.

"Commitment should be judged by contribution, not hours. That is how organisations retain and nurture their talent," she added.

The research was conducted online by YouGov between 13 and 25 August, with the study designed and analysed by ThinkerTank.

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