Now more than ever, young people are focusing less on work and more on their hobbies, and getting to experience life. In the past, there was a pretty straight forward path to living in this country. After high school you would go to college, you would then get a job only to work until you’re 65 before retiring, but with economic and cultural changes, young people are working at a lesser rate out of college, or are at least less work oriented. They aren’t making their entire life about getting a good job, rather young people are focusing on doing things they enjoy.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) the rate of employment for those aged 16 to 24 years old has fallen over 8.5% from the year 2000 to 2019. This shows a trend that young people are working less and less.
While we also have the data for 2020, I don’t feel like it is fair to compare that data, due to the overwhelming amount of jobs lost in every demographic that year.
Older generations will claim it’s because Gen Z is lazy and doesn’t want to work, but I think it is because Gen Z would rather focus on things that are important to them and make them happy, rather than wasting away at a job they hate. I think that this feeling was solidified over the course of the pandemic, when a lot of young people didn’t really get the option to work. They realized that they were able to survive without working at a job they don’t enjoy, and doesn’t pay them well.
I think another reason that young people are less excited to work, is due to seeing how little corporations care about their employees. It used to be that you would go, get a job, work your way up and after 40 years of working at that company you would get to retire. That isn’t the case anymore, and there isn’t a better example than the mass layoffs at the start of COVID-19. The second things got tough for everyone, companies fired a bunch of people, while getting a good chunk of money from the federal government, a check originally intended to protect people from these same layoffs.
This is more than just young people being lazy, like some would claim. This is a cultural shift where people are starting to realize their values, and realize they don’t want to give their life to a company that will throw them away the second things get tough. I believe this will lead to companies having to shift how employment works, leading to better conditions for all workers.
Mark Warren can be reached at [email protected]