Creator Economy vs. Corporate Jobs: A Labour Supply Study of Gen Z in Pune

The structural change that is currently taking place in the 21st century labour market is due to the emergence of the creator economy, which is a digital ecosystem that has empowered people to commercially sell creativity and personal impact via online platforms. This research aims at examining the position of the Generation Z in Pune, India, in the occupational trade-off sourcing between traditional occupation that is corporate jobs and new mode of creation that is known as freelance occupations. Data were gathered on models of mixed-method and cross-sectional studies based on the population consisting of 300 persons (100 creators, 100 freelancers, and 100 corporate workers) aged between 18 and 28 by using semi-structured interviews and structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and linear regression were used in quantitative analysis and thematic analysis in qualitative analysis. Results demonstrate that there is a trend of differences in prevalence of income, hours worked and reservation wages between types of employment (F = 11.84, p < 0.001). Regression results show that autonomy preference (β = –2,100, p < 0.001) and risk tolerance (β = –1,750, p < 0.01) negatively influence reservation wage, whereas digital skill (β = +1,250, p < 0.05) positively affects income expectations. As qualitative understandings, creative satisfying, hybrid work aspiration, and attention-detention behaviour are the traits of the labour-supply dynamic of Gen Z. The work is an extension of the classical labour used in the tangible labour -leisure model, to autonomy as a third dimension of utility in the form of U=f(Y,L,A), In which Y is income, L is leisure and A is autonomy. These researchers have implications on employers, policy makers, and educators who may have to reconfigure to fit in the growing digital workforce in post-pandemic India.