Millennials Embrace 'Stability Stacking' as Job Insecurity Fuels Multiple Income Streams and Crypto Interest

Millennials, the largest generation in the workforce, are increasingly insecure about their jobs and are turning to alternative career strategies to build safety nets. According to a new Glassdoor poll of 1,805 US professionals in August, over three-quarters of millennials report actively questioning their career paths.

A separate survey found many are delaying major life milestones due to this uncertainty. This trend, termed "stability stacking," involves taking on multiple income streams, skills training, and side jobs outside primary work to feel more secure.

What Is Stability Stacking?

Stability stacking is a way to ensure alternatives are in place if a primary job goes sideways, according to Chris Martin, senior economist at Glassdoor. The practice has gained traction among millennials because they've experienced significant career disruptions, including two recessions during their job-seeking years.

Martin notes that stability stacking acts as insurance against layoffs, AI-driven job displacement, or other major changes. It also helps combat job fatigue: millennials were the most likely among generations surveyed to mention burnout and concerns about job security and layoffs.

Why Millennials Are Stacking

Millennials are in their earnings prime—typically their 30s—but many don't feel secure. Despite low layoffs overall, major employers have made cuts, often attributing them to AI. Some companies have flattened management levels just as millennials began advancing, making it tough to find new jobs in a low-hire, low-fire market.

"We're at a point in our careers where we have been in the workforce for long enough that it feels like we should have experienced some sort of payoff by now," said Janel Abrahami, creator of career platform Going Places and a millennial stability stacker. "But for a lot of us, that hasn't come to fruition." This dynamic can lead to burnout or a sense that all career eggs are in one basket. "I think stability stacking offers a more empowering way for us to break out of this very murky cycle," Abrahami added.

How to Build a Stability Stack

One key approach is developing skills that employers need now and in the future, such as AI knowledge or sharpened soft skills. Building a network adjacent to your career or in a different field is also crucial. Martin says this ensures you have contacts to reach out to if your job disappears and prospects in your industry dry up.

Abrahami recently encountered Gen Xers and boomers in a coaching certification course picking up new skills post-retirement, indicating the trend may extend beyond millennials. She sees stability stacking as part of the future of work. "Thinking about, OK, well work means I do a job, I get promoted, I wait for a raise, and then maybe I make this big pivot to another company — that's a very linear way of thinking," she said.

"And I don't think the future of our careers is going to reward linear thinking anymore. I think it's going to reward non-linear and stacked thinking."

Coinasity's Take

The rise of stability stacking among millennials highlights a broader shift in how workers view traditional employment. As job security erodes—partly due to AI and economic volatility—the desire for diversified income streams mirrors the principles of crypto and blockchain-based financial autonomy.

Just as decentralized networks reduce single points of failure, stability stacking empowers individuals to build resilient, non-linear careers. This trend could accelerate adoption of crypto as a store of value and alternative earning mechanism, especially as millennials seek to hedge against systemic risks in traditional labor markets.