Joining the gig economy used to be considered an “alternative” career path—but it’s fast becoming the norm. By 2027, half of the developed world’s workers will be part of the gig economy, according to a new report from Ogilvy. While it was initially a combination of advancements in technology and corporate cost cutting that drove workers to freelance and side-hustle jobs, the motivation for independent work has evolved. 

“Young people are really driven to take control over their own work life balance and craft their own career and narrative,” Reid Litman, global consulting director at Ogilvy and co-author of the report, tells Fortune. “They don’t trust the old system.”  

Members of Gen Z have come of age in an era marked by uncertainty and turbulence, from pandemics to political unrest to mass layoffs in various sectors. Traditional education is not the guarantee of a stable career that it once was, with many employers finding entry level candidates lacking the necessary skills to begin their ascent on the corporate ladder. 

A critical subset of the growing gig economy is the community of creators, influencers, independent entrepreneurs and consultants, a category that includes “anyone who publicizes or monetizes their own persona or skill set,” according to Litman. Content creation, once seen as a frivolous hobby, has become more and more lucrative, and the creator economy is set to reach $529 billion by 2030, according to a report from Coherent Market Insights. 

In order to stay competitive and not lose future talent pipelines, companies should learn to embrace Gen Z’s modern approach to work. Litman argues that today’s employers frequently use the negative associations with Gen Z, such as high turnover rate, as justification for why they shouldn’t invest in them further. “This is kind of a race to the bottom, because while there is truth to higher turnover among Gen Z, these realities are rooted in more macro-shifts, like the idea that Gen Z will have many more jobs and careers than past generations,” Litman says.“It’s not a Gen Z decision so much as it is like a socio-economic and technological outcome.” 

Litman believes that employers need to embrace all aspects of an employee’s life, and break down the “invisible walls” between consumer, creator, and employee identity. Some ways to build up loyalty among Gen Z employees include hosting network-building events, where they can make connections and receive mentorship from internal and external experts, as well as “repotting days” that allow employees to spend half a day per quarter in another team. 

Upskilling access is another critical element to retention among younger workers, and companies should be investing in top-tier e-learning platforms via corporate membership. “Let [employees] choose courses aligned with both their interests and manager feedback—directly tied to their reviews,” he suggests. Especially when more young people are forgoing traditional education, Litman believes employers can step in and “be the university [employees] never had.” 

Finally, Litman thinks that companies can gain favor with Gen Z by supporting their employees’ side-hustles and passion projects, not discouraging them. He suggests that as opposed to focusing on top-down philanthropy, company resources should be directed to employee-led initiatives. “Whether it’s an Etsy side hustle or teaching skills on Maven, aligning with what matters to workers creates more energized, innovative teams,” he says. “Shaping the future of learning and earning includes changing how you see Gen Z. So in a world where they have more options and flexibility, in order to win with them, you have to appeal to their whole selves.” 

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• The director of American Psycho says many fans are misreading the film. We “never expected it to be embraced by Wall Street bros, at all,” says Mary Harron. The film celebrates its 25^th anniversary this year.

American Psycho was always meant to be a satire. The film, released in 2000, starred Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a New York City investment banker who also happened to be a serial killer. Since then, he has become something of a TikTok favorite.

Director Mary Harron, however, says she is “mystified” by the “Wall Street bros” who idolize Bateman, adding they have missed the point of the film.

Bateman might wear good suits and have money and power, but he is, at his core, a fool, she said—and the film itself is “a gay man’s satire on masculinity,” she told Letterboxd Journal in an interview marking the film’s silver anniversary.

American Psycho was based on a book by author Bret Easton Ellis. Harron said “[Ellis] being gay allowed him to see the homoerotic rituals among these alpha males, which is also true in sports, and it’s true in Wall Street, and all these things where men are prizing their extreme competition and their ‘elevating their prowess’ kind of thing. There’s something very, very gay about the way they’re fetishizing looks and the gym.”

It also went on to be a Broadway musical.

For that and other reasons, Harron says she and other filmmakers never expected the film would be embraced by the finance community, much less a new generation. TikTok, though, has given the film another bite of the apple, as clips of Bateman have trended regularly with users.

“I’m always so mystified by it,” Harron said. “I don’t think that [co-writer Guinevere Turner] and I ever expected it to be embraced by Wall Street bros, at all. That was not our intention. So, did we fail? I’m not sure why [it happened], because Christian’s very clearly making fun of them.”

The film was met with criticism from feminist groups before its release, with some pointing to its toxic masculinity and misogyny. Afterward, some backed away from that, citing Harron’s direction. Critic Roger Ebert, at the time, wrote “She’s transformed a novel about blood lust into a movie about men’s vanity.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com