Lhe idea seems widely shared: young people no longer attach importance to work, no longer want to work, in a word, are lazy – thus testifying to the decline of the “value of work” in our society. Generations Y and Z would be endowed with specific characteristics, carrying aspirations radically different from those of previous generations.
The reality is much more complex and nuanced, as shown by the work presented during the meetings organized by the National Institute of Youth and Popular Education (Injep), November 21.
These first served as a reminder that criticism of young people is not new: in 1972, a survey carried out by researchers from the Center for the Study of Employment and Labor already reported that employers were complaining about no longer find in this workforce “the qualities of love of work, ambition and seriousness which, according to them, characterized previous generations”.
In 2008, extensive European research had revealed the existence of identical stereotypes and prejudices against young people on the part of employers and older generations. Almost forty years apart, the two surveys nevertheless showed that young people attached more importance to work than older people, that their expectations were similar – just like the latter, they wanted interesting work, good working environment and earning a good living – but that these expectations were even higher.
Heterogeneous groups
This is still the case today, contrary to what is said in the speeches claiming that Covid-19 caused a rupture. In October, a Harris Interactive investigation asked those under 30 the classic pollster question when it comes to reporting on the importance given to work: “What would you do if you didn’t need money to live?” » 77% would continue to work. Among these, however, 28% would change jobs.
This response invites us to take an interest in the concrete conditions of employment and integration of young people into the labor market, which the very rich “Generation 2017” survey of the Center for Studies and Research on Qualifications. Its results, presented by Dominique Epiphane and Julie Couronné during the Injep meetings, made it possible to highlight another essential element: far from being a uniform category, youth is made up, on the contrary, of very heterogeneous groups, whose relationship to work depends closely on employment conditions.
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