Multiple Jobholding as Identity: Investigating an emerging shift among younger workers toward “Mosaic Careers”

Multiple jobholding (MJH)—the practice of maintaining more than one paid position simultaneously—is experiencing unprecedented growth, driven by digital platforms, remote work normalization, and the expanding gig economy, which have all democratized access to diverse work opportunities. This expansion has altered the demographics of multiple job holders, shifting from predominantly low-wage workers seeking economic survival to include professionals across the income spectrum pursuing varied employment arrangements. Exploration of MJH has typically been dichotomized into two perspectives: those who view it as an unfortunate necessity forced upon the economically vulnerable and those who celebrate it as empowering "side hustles" that provide supplemental income and personal fulfillment. To examine workers' actual preferences and motivations, we fielded a survey (n=254) investigating whether workers actively desire MJH arrangements, whether financial considerations alone drive these preferences, and what other factors influence their appeal. Results revealed that workers across demographic groups express a genuine preference for MJH arrangements, transcending economic boundaries. While compensation remains important, workers value MJH for the flexibility and autonomy it provides. In contrast to the universal appeal of these characteristics, the youngest generation (Gen Z) is distinguished by significantly higher interest in using multiple roles to maintain different professional identities and build diverse networks (p < 0.05). These findings suggest the emergence of what we term the "Career Mosaic"—a deliberate construction of professional identity through intentionally curated work experiences that together create a more complete expression of self. This shift from viewing careers as linear progressions to seeing them as multifaceted compositions among the next generation of workers has profound implications for employment policy, workforce development practices, HR technology, and organizational strategy, all of which were designed for a single-employer paradigm that may no longer reflect workers' evolving relationship with work.