Workers want freedom, and this desire is driving them towards independent (and often entrepreneurial) career paths. Following a prior study on disruption of work from the perspective of businesses, this survey examines the future of work as envisioned by professionals. Results found that many are planning their escape from corporate jobs — 72% of freelancers still at “regular” jobs want to quit entirely, and 61% say they are likely to quit within two years. Millennials in particular are pursuing independent careers that foster faster progression than traditional hierarchical organizations. Of almost 2,000 Millennial respondents, 58% classified themselves as entrepreneurs. These responses (from more than 3,000 freelancers worldwide who have worked online) quantify the mindset of freelancers today, providing a glimpse into the professional landscape of tomorrow.

1. AND THE
MILLENNIALS
FUTURE OF WORK
A survey commissioned by Millennial Branding and oDesk
Objective: Examine trends in the future of work, focusing on Millennials
Fielded: February 2013, online, by Genesis Research Associates
Audience: Independent workers worldwide who had been active on oDesk within 180 days
Sample size: 3,193 globally, incl. 1,958 Millennials (at 95% probability: +/- 1.9 sampling error)

2. A New Independent,
Entrepreneurial Mindset
Has Arrived

3. Being an entrepreneur today means having a
certain mindset, not just starting a company
What does being an entrepreneur mean
to Millennials?
“A creative person with a successful drive to
create something new in the business world.”
“A person committed to pursuing innovation
within a business, industry, or social sphere.”
“A person who does not follow the typical
business patterns and makes his/her own way.”
Mindset
90%
Person who
starts a
company
10%
What is an Entrepreneur?
Q.34 Which of these statements is a better description of an
entrepreneur? A person who starts a company or a person
with a mindset to see opportunities, take risks, and make
things happen
3

4. Though entrepreneurship is challenging,
Millennials are especially positive & benefits prevail
Entirely a
good thing
53%
There are
downsides
47%
Is Being an Entrepreneur…
Q.32 Do you think that being an
entrepreneur is entirely a good thing,
or are there downsides?
57%
é
47%
Millennials
All others
How Many Say Being
an Entrepreneur Is
“Entirely Good”?
Yes
75%
No
25%
Do Benefits Outweigh
Downsides?
Q.32 Do the benefits of being an
entrepreneur outweigh the
downsides, or not?
4

5. More than 1 in 3 say join a startup
over finishing school
Join a start-up
38%
Complete
degree
62%
What Would You Recommend?
Q.27 If a friend had a choice of
either completing their college
degree at a respected university
or joining a promising start-up
company, which would you
recommend they should do?
5

6. The Age of Entrepreneurial
Independents*:
Cra ing Paths to Freedom
*58% of Millennials classified themselves as “entrepreneurs”
6!

7. Why a new path?
Workers want freedom
Corporate office/
regular hours
11%
Work when/
where you
choose
89%
What’s Your Preference?
Q.14 For which of the following company types would you prefer to work?
7

8. Among freelancers who had a job, many quit to
pursue independence, especially Millennials
Quit to
work for
myself
50%
Lost job
18%
Other
32%
Why Did You Leave?
57%é
42%
13%
24%é
31%
34%
Millennials
All others
Is There a Gen Difference?
Q.6c Did you quit a "regular job" so that you could concentrate on
working for yourself, or did you quit or lose your job for some other
reason? (Based to those who had a regular job in the past)
8

9. Among reasons to quit, freedom is top
7%
62%
63%
66%
69%
Tax benefits
Control over own work
Limitless income
opportunity
Ability to choose type
work
Freedom
Why I Want to Quit
Q.8 Reasons why you would
you like to quit your "regular
job" and work only for yourself?
(Based to have a job/want to
quit)
9

10. Careers are less likely to be long-term, and the idea of
a 1-employer career isn’t appealing (to any generation)
Yes
18%
No
82%
Is Having 1 Employer
For Life Appealing?
Q.12 Is the idea of having only one job for
life appealing to you, or not?
Agree
strongly
13%
Agree
41%
Neutral
33%
Disagree
12%
Disagree
strongly
2%
Are Careers Less Likely To
Be Based On Long-Term Jobs?
Q.28b How much do you agree or disagree with the following
statement? Nowadays, careers are less likely to be based on long-
term jobs, more likely short-term jobs and independent contracts
10

11. Freedom and flexibility drive desire
to be independent
54%
57%
59%
69%
87%
90%
92%
Less stress
Better potential earnings
Better quality of life
More interesting
More flexibility - timing
More freedom
More flexibility - location
Agree Applies to Freelance Work vs. Regular Job
Q.5 How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following
statements about doing contract/freelance work vs. having a "regular job"?
11

12. Workers want freedom to work wherever — no
wonder there’s pushback against bans on WFH
11%
11%
20%
56%
Drop-in cowork
space
Open workspace
Private office
From home
What’s Your Work
Location Preference?
9%
8%
65%é
13%é
12%é
51%
Drop-in
cowork
space
Open
workspace
At home
Is There a Gen Difference?
Millennials
All others
Q.16 In which ONE of these locations would you MOST prefer to work?
12

13. We want freedom to work when we want
62%
50%é
70%é
44%
Morning
Late night
What Times of Day Do You "
Prefer to Work?
Millennials
All others
Q.13 What time of day do you prefer to work?
Agree strongly
18%
Agree
40%
Neutral
30%
Disagree
10%
Disagree
strongly
1%
Agree the Standard Workday
is Going Away?
Q.28 How much do you agree or disagree with
each of the following statements? The standard
workday (9 to 5, 8 to 4, etc.) is becoming obsolete
13

14. We want freedom to travel & flexibility to work as we go
Extremely
17%
Very
29%
Somewhat
34%
Not very
14%
Not at all
6%
How Important is Travel?
Q.19 In general, how important to you
personally is the opportunity to travel?
Work &
travel
63%
Vacation
travel
37%
What’s Your Preference?
Q.19a Do you want to have a career that enables you to work while
you are traveling, or do you want to take time off from work when
you are traveling? (Based to those who say travel is important)
14

15. We want freedom to work on what we want, and
7 in 10 believe that freelance work is more interesting
Agree strongly
35%
Agree
34%
Neutral
25%
Disagree
5%
Disagree
strongly
1%
Is Freelance Work More Interesting?
Q.28 How much do you agree or
disagree with each of the following
statements? Freelance work is
more interesting than a regular job
15

16. Who Will Lead
the Future of Work?
16!

17. Few say gender is a factor in career success, but 65%
believe certain industries offer women more opportunity
Extremely
2%
Very
5%
Somewhat
17%
Not very
25%
Not at all
51%
How Important is Gender
to Career Potential?
Q.24a In what industries do women have more
opportunities for success? "
(Multiple answers accepted)
8%
8%
18%
18%
19%
25%
27%
32%
33%
Manufacturing
Engineering
Technology
Law
Government
Finance
Consumer Goods
Academia
Medicine
What Are The Best
Industries for Women?
Q.23 In general, how important is a person's
gender in determining their career potential?
17

18. Most believe Gen X is best suited to run today’s
businesses; but many Gen Y think they’re ready
19%
77%
53%
Boomer
Gen X
Gen Y
What Generation Is Best
Suited to Run a "
21st-Century Businesses?
66%é
31%
Millennials
All others
Is There a Gen Difference?
66% of Millennials Say
They’re Best
Q.25 In general, who would you say has the best ideas and
clearest vision about how to run a 21st-century business?
18

19. Looking Ahead
19!

20. Ge ing an early start: 1/5th of those working online are
still enrolled; same % of Millennials have hired freelancers
Yes
21%
No
79%
Are You Currently
Attending College?
Note: Most currently enrolled are
working on grad degrees
Yes
21%
No
79%
Have You Hired Other
Freelancers This Year?
Q.4 In the past 12 months, have you hired
any freelancers to work for you?
20

21. Other industry statistics & projections
• 54% of the nation’s Millennials either want to start a business
or already have (Kauffman Foundation)
• By 2015, the world’s mobile worker population will reach
1.3B, representing 37.2% of the total workforce (IDC)
• Online work industry is $1B today, and expected to be $5B
within 5 years (Staffing Industry Analysts)
21

22. Among freelancers at “regular” jobs, 72% want to quit to
be entirely independent; 61% likely will within 2 years
Yes
72%
No
28%
Would You Like to Quit to
Work for Yourself?
17%
44%
28%
12%
Definitely
will
Probably
will
Probably
not
Definitely
not
How Likely Are You to Quit
Within 2 Years?
Q.9 How likely is it that you will quit your "regular job”
within the next 2 years and concentrate on working for
yourself? (Based to those who have a job)
Q.7 Would you like to quit your "regular job" and
work only for yourself at some point in the future?
22

23. About oDesk:
Witnessing the Future of Work
23!

24. oDesk: The world’s largest online workplace
Removing Industrial-Age
barriers in how, where
and when work is done
Enabling freedom and
flexibility for both workers
and businesses
>600k clients
>3.2M freelancers
Avg. freelancer on oDesk is a Millennial
***
In 2012: "
$360M gross services (spend on oDesk) "
35M hours worked & 1.5M jobs posted
24! 24

25. Hours worked are growing rapidly
0.00
1,000,000.00
2,000,000.00
3,000,000.00
4,000,000.00
5,000,000.00
6,000,000.00
7,000,000.00
8,000,000.00
9,000,000.00
10,000,000.00
2005/Q1
2005/Q2
2005/Q3
2005/Q4
2006/Q1
2006/Q2
2006/Q3
2006/Q4
2007/Q1
2007/Q2
2007/Q3
2007/Q4
2008/Q1
2008/Q2
2008/Q3
2008/Q4
2009/Q1
2009/Q2
2009/Q3
2009/Q4
2010/Q1
2010/Q2
2010/Q3
2010/Q4
2011/Q1
2011/Q2
2011/Q3
2011/Q4
2012/Q1
2012/Q2
2012/Q3
2012/Q4
oDesk Hours
2005 - 2012
2012 Hours
35M hours worked/billed
25! 25

26. oDesk’s three growth areas
United States
Australia & Canada
UK & Europe
Developing Countries
Company Size
Geography
Skills
Enterprises
Mid-sized companies
(100 to 1,000)
Small businesses
(10 to 100)
Entrepreneurs
(<10)
India
Philippines
Pakistan
United States
26! 26

27. Hiring is spreading globally
U.S.
Australia
Canada
UK
UAE
144 other countries
In 2007, non-U.S.
clients represented
just 22% of total
dollars spent. In
2012, they represent
close to 40%.
oDesk Gross Services
by country
27! 27

28. Types of work happening are growing
Source: oDesk database
Administrative Support
Business Services
Customer Service
Design & Multimedia
Networking & Information
Systems
Sales & Marketing
Software Development
Unknown
Web Development
Writing & Translation
In 2007, just 4 categories
represented 90% of total dollars
billed. In 2012, 35 categories
represented 90% of dollars billed,
with another 41 smaller
categories growing quickly.
oDesk Gross Services
by category
28! 28

29. About Millennial Branding:
Discovering Millennial Workplace Opportunities
29!

30. About Millennial Branding
"
Millennial Branding is a Gen Y research and management consulting firm based in Boston, Mass.
Millennial Branding helps companies understand the emerging Gen Y employee by providing research,
training, and advisory services. As representatives of Gen Y and advisers to management, our goal is to
provide research and insights that will make you more profitable, grow your market share, help you
understand your Gen Y employees, and turn you into an industry leader. As ambassadors to Gen Y, we
want to give our generation a voice, support their careers, and connect them with brands that
understand their needs."
"
About Dan Schawbel
"
Dan Schawbel is the Managing Partner of Millennial Branding. He is the author of the #1 international
bestselling book, Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future, and the soon to be released, Promote Yourself:
The New Rules For Career Success. Dan was named to the Inc. Magazine 30 Under 30 List in 2010, the
Forbes Magazine 30 Under 30 List in 2012, and BusinessWeek cites him as someone entrepreneurs
should follow on Twitter."
"
We’ve worked with many companies including:"
"
"
"
Our research has been covered in over 100 media outlets including:
30
30

31. 31!