Faced with the rise of “atypical” work, such as part-time work, self-employment and fixed-term contracts, young people have a complex relationship with the professional life. This trend may offer interesting opportunities, but it can also be a source of job insecurity and instability, redefining the way individuals approach their working lives. CDPs guiding young people through this changing reality will benefit from understanding youths’ perspectives on it.
Longo, Bourdon, and Dionne designed a 5-year longitudinal study that examines the relationship to working life of 54 young CEGEP1 students (aged between 17 and 19) in Quebec. The 265 interviews conducted over the years focused on four dimensions of students’ relationship to working life:
- relationship to activity, i.e., the meaning of work and the place it takes in one’s life;
- relationship to work, i.e., individual reasons for working;
- relationship to employment, i.e., the factors that influence the choice of a job;
- relationships with the world of work, i.e., the ways in which people deal with obstacles or opportunities in the labour market.
Firstly, regarding the relationship with activity, the results of the study indicate that work remains an important dimension of young people’s lives. For most respondents, work was just as important as studies and personal development, if not relatively more so. A minority of young people gave absolute priority to work (10 out of 54).
Nearly three quarters of the young people in the study worked to earn a living and achieve independence. That said, the relationship with work is not only instrumental: For most respondents, it is also a source of fulfillment, gaining valuable experience, and building social ties.
In terms of their relationship to employment, many selection criteria contributed to young people’s choice of workplace, including work atmosphere, working hours, distance from the job, stability, job security, and opportunities for advancement. When it came to choosing a student job, the atmosphere, opportunity, task, and flexible working hours are given priority. When choosing work within an intentional career path or, as young people call it, a “real job,” they tended to look for interesting tasks, stability, and salary.
Finally, an analysis of the young people’s relationship with the work world shows that they are aware of the obstacles and opportunities offered by the current job market. Their attitudes towards the work world are fairly divided – 27 young people were rather optimistic about their job prospects, 24 seemed pessimistic, and 4 were indifferent.
At the end of the five-year study, Longo and colleagues found that attitudes to working life are likely to change over time. For example, the priority given to activity within a chosen career path increase over time, and young people see work as less and less instrumental. Another observation is that their attitudes towards work do not always translate into reality. Indeed, it is possible that those who prioritize work early on will delay their entry into the workforce, or that those who select a career trajectory based on salary may not be the most well paid. The complexity of young people’s aspirations, combined with an ever-changing labour market, confirms the important role of CDPs in guiding the next generation towards a career path that reflects their own values.
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