We are increasingly led to believe that young people crave a job whose purpose largely matches their own.  Work is not simply a means of earning money but more of enacting the values that we hold dear to us.  A new study from Newcastle University explores whether this holds true and whether things such as unemployment and poor work conditions influence this perspective at all.

The researchers examined the work values of people aged between 18-35 in eleven different countries around Europe.  The analysis revealed that the quality of work people currently enjoyed, together with any previous periods of unemployment, had an impact upon their overall motivation on the job.

Attitudes towards work

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it emerged that age had an important effect on our attitude towards work.  For instance, if people in their 20s had already experienced unemployment, they tended to place more value on intrinsic aspects of their work, such as having opportunities for learning and development.

This appears to change by the time we enter our 30s however, when those who have lived through a period of unemployment place less value on these intrinsic factors.  This probably reflects the typical changes in life stage that tends to occur at this age, with people often adopting a more risk averse approach to life in line with raising a family and having a mortgage to pay.

“Experiences of unemployment or low quality work early in their career can directly influence the work values of a person and have a long-term impact on motivation and their attitudes towards pay and other benefits. Where young people feel there is a mismatch between the job they’re doing and their skills and experience, they are more motivated by aspects such as pay and job security,” the authors say.

The findings emerged after data was harvested from the EU CUPRESSE project, which among other things aims to shed light on the world of work.  The data enabled the researchers to explore the impact both unemployment and poor quality work had on young people.  The team believe that their findings have clear implications for policymakers, as well as employers.

“Youth unemployment across much of Europe rose following the global financial crash in 2008 and policymakers have rightly sought to address this. However many of these policies are targeted at the under 25s. But this research shows that there are important experiences to take into consideration for those aged over 25 because values and priorities are still changing and being formed,” they say.

Add in the often precarious nature of much of modern work and it presents a more complex situation than perhaps is reflected in the policy responses at the moment.  Whilst this research isn’t a silver bullet on its own, it does nonetheless contribute to improving our understanding of work today, which is no bad thing.