The future of work—the Gen Z way
Raised in a digital world, Gen Z has always been primed to do things their own way—including their approach to work.
Gen-Z, a generation raised on the internet and social media, is taking the creator space by force—and a 24-year-old entrepreneur is leading the way. Kelsey Davis is a LinkedIn creator and founder of CLLCTVE, a digital platform that connects underrepresented communities to today’s top brands. With her innovative approach, she is not only shaping the future of work for her generation but also inspiring old-head millennials like me to wake up to the possibilities the creator economy offers us all.
Gen Z wants autonomy and they are willing to think creatively to make it happen. They have the internet to thank for that.
“I grew up in an environment where I could go on the internet and go to YouTube and Google ‘how to build a table’ or ‘how to shoot a video’,” said Davis. “I can go on places like Fiverr or Upwork or go onto Wix and create a website. It was always at my disposal to be able to do those things. At the same time, doing those things, you have your parents who are maybe telling you ‘go to college, get an education.’ And we didn’t necessarily see the ROI yet of people that were doing these alternative career paths.”
Davis, the daughter of two working parents who’ve been at their jobs for well over 30 years, is all about creating options. She followed her parents’ advice and went to Syracuse University—and by her sophomore year, she was traveling across the world producing freelance content for artists and brands like Coca-Cola, Land Rover, and Puma while also getting a full-time education.
“I was really in a position of seeing the ecosystems of options when it comes to how you can go about deciding how you chase your career,” Davis explained. “I was able to see a lot of friends who were maybe choosing more traditional kinds of corporate routes and seeing the things that they had to give up in order to do that. Whether it was social efficacy, whether it was being able to do some of their hobbies or doing something that’s actually aligned with their values.”
She admittedly ran into a problem juggling both: Time. There needed to be a more streamlined and organized way for her to get work, so Davis created CLLCTVE. The digital platform is now working to change the landscape of the creator space by democratizing the content marketplace for creative individuals, regardless of race, class, location, or resources.
Davis sees her company has the connector. It links Black, brown and marginalized people to an American dream that’s fading by the day.
“I think as Americans, we’re promised this whole ‘life, liberty, [and] pursuit of happiness,’ and I agree with that and I want that. There are things, however, that historical American leaders have created in terms of systems that have disabled everyone from getting access to these things,” she said. “I think for young people they’re realizing, okay, I can maybe find my independent route to freedom economically with something like fractional work and freelance work.”
Gen Z has a lot to say about the future of work, and we’d be wise to listen. They are taking what millennials have dabbled in and making it accessible and lucrative—if you’re into that kind of thing.
To see more of the conversation with Coach Tish and Kelsey, watch this week’s episode of The Reset, above.
Letisha Bereola is a life coach who helps ambitious women overcome burnout and reach their career goals so they feel great at work and happy at home. She’s a former Emmy-nominated TV news anchor, Podcast host of AUDACITY and speaker. Learn more: www.coachtish.co.
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