Dive Brief:
- A new Indeed report on "hipster" vernacular found that what was once considered a sub-cultural phenomenon can still be observed in job search terms commonly used today. According to Indeed, hipsters emerged after the 2008 recession and were grouped with millennials as the "cheapest generation" — one that valued certain cultural elements, like veganism, tattoos and vintage shopping.
- To find out what jobs associated with hipsters are in industry sectors, Indeed evaluated jobs and job searches based on keywords such as "organic" or "vintage." The job board giant found that "yoga" is the top hipster job-search term, with 241.4 searches per million; followed by "tattoo" (87.2); "vegan" (55.3); "distillery" (38.9); and "craft beer" (30). Yoga’s popularity is still growing in the mainstream culture and as part of the wellness industry, which grew by 12.8% between 2015 and 2017 and generated $4.2 trillion in revenue in 2018, Indeed said.
- The most popular jobs for hipsters were bartender (3375.4 postings per million), chef (2523.6), barista (1950.4), yoga (131.1) and tattoo artist (16.6). The top three "hipster" jobs are in the food service industry, which grew by 6% from 2018 to 2019, according to Indeed. The popularity of yoga teacher and tattoo artist job searches may reflect their growing ubiquity in the culture as a whole.
Dive Insight:
Employees want jobs that reflect their personal preferences, tastes and values. Indeed's study deals with hipster culture, but the same principle applies to other areas of employees' interests, such as the environment, social causes and philanthropy.
Some employees are willing to trade in a higher salary for a job with a company that shares their personal values. Others believe organizations should help solve society's problems. A resurgence in the focus of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reflects what many young workers want from employment and what many consumers want in customer service.
Employers can't be all things to all workers, but they can build and maintain a culture in which all employees are respected, have the same opportunities for growth and advancement and are recognized for their contributions.