What are young people saying about transitioning into the world of work?

Anyone attentive to the news over the past few years will have seen countless articles about youth unemployment being at record levels. This comes alongside reports of soaring mental health issues among young people in the UK, and a recent report from the Department of Work and Pensions stating that young people with mental health conditions are nearly five time more likely to be out of work compared to others in their age group. 

As part of our ongoing project, we have been speaking to and spending time with young people aged 18-24 – roughly at the age they might be entering the working world – to understand their experiences within this current landscape. We wanted to know how they feel about work, what they value in it, how they feel about those who don’t or can’t work, and any challenges they face entering working life. 

So far, we’ve interviewed several young people who have displayed a range of attitudes to work – from those for whom work takes up most of their life and who talk proudly of their job, hoping to build a secure future, to those who are not working at all and are unlikely to in the foreseeable future due to circumstantial challenges or long-term health issues. In this article, we share what three of them told us. Some expressed concern and scepticism about those who are not in work, touching on ideas about fairness and entitlement, responsibility and agency. Others talked about the challenges of getting into work and wanting more flexibility from employers to be able to do so. 

These are live updates from fieldwork and provide only a snapshot of what people have said about work so far. There will be more to come.  

The article includes several audio clips so you can hear what these young people think, straight from the source. We are also talking to those aged 63-69 who are leaving or have just left the workforce. We’ll share some updates from those interviews soon.  

Jay, 22

Jay lives outside Wakefield with his family. I visited him where he lives, on a suburban council estate not far from the main road. Several of his friends from school live nearby. Jay has had multiple jobs and a couple of apprenticeships, but has now found one he really enjoys working in facilities management at a prison, which includes one day a week in college. 

He is proud of his job and told me he was lucky to have one that he enjoyed and in which he could progress. In his view, and based on the experience of some of his peers, these were not easy to come by in “the North”. 

Jay said the turning point was “when the mines shut”, something he thought had “crippled the North. So there were less work for people and people did become poorer. They weren’t able to keep up with the standard of living that people from London, Brighton, those sort of areas were.”  

It became clear over the course of our conversation that Jay not only valued his job, but also had strong views about those who aren’t working. He told me that he’s recently drifted apart from a couple of his friends based on conflicting values – particularly about work and how people should be spending their time. 

"The other one…he spent about two weeks not working. […] He does have drive and he wants to do things. […] I think it started when like he'd buy like weed pens with the vape alternative juice, and the rest of us don't do that. […] And as we get older we don't want to be around people like that. Because [Jay’s friend has] got his house, he doesn't want to bring people over who are going to stink it up with that stuff. I don't want to be associated with people who put my job at risk. And yeah, I don't want to pay for him all the time. Sounds awful but after three years I must have spent…700 pound plus on each of them. We all have." 

Ellie, 21

Ellie lives with her parents and sister in a suburb near Basingstoke. Her dad works in construction and her mum, having worked in HR, is now semi-retired. Ellie considered going to university to study Criminology but decided instead to go straight into work in order to earn money.  She currently has three jobs. 

Her primary goal is to work to earn money, hoping eventually to be able to buy a house of her own. She spoke proudly of her parents who did the same thing, who have worked hard enough to own a house and to go on holidays. Ellie wants the same for herself. However, she also valued aspects of her work that were not purely transactional. When talking about her care work, she said she “debated it because…like you're obviously doing personal care for people. It's not like the nicest of jobs ever, but I thought I'd give it a go. And it's actually…quite a nice job. The actual job you're doing isn't exactly nice, but, like, you're doing it, like, for a good reason.” 

The conversation later moved on to some of the big national talking points including taxation, people out of work and the benefits system. Ellie was particularly focussed on the concept of fairness. 

Charlotte, 19

Charlotte lives in Gateshead with her family. She has multiple health conditions and her mother, having previously worked in teaching, now cares for her part time. Her dad works as a chartered building engineer. Charlotte was diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorder a few years ago and more latterly ADHD as well. She also has emetophobia and is seeking a diagnosis for PoTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome).  

“I fit the diagnostic criteria, which is basically an increase of 30 beats per minute when you go from lying to standing, sustained for 10 minutes, which I have videos of my heart rate doing. So, yeah, just need to convince my consultant that it's that. But, yeah, that basically makes my symptoms a lot worse on a morning.” 

As a result of these things, she struggled through school. She did experience some bullying, but suggests her difficulties were principally due to Autism. 

“I think it was mainly due to just being autistic, really. The fact that that environment just really burns you out fast. But it just being very loud, very busy, just very intense.”  

Her struggles did not stop after leaving school. She tried with little success to go to college, then moved on to an apprenticeship, which she eventually had to leave as well.  

She is now out of work entirely. 

Charlotte described needing particular environmental conditions in order to be able to work. Without these conditions, as she found out in her last job, she struggles.  

When the conversation moved onto what the future looked like for her, Charlotte struggled to envisage ever being able to move away from the area, even out of her parents home, due to the challenges she faces, and particularly because she feels she’s unable to work. 

“I feel like I'm probably gonna end up living here forever. Not necessarily because I'm like, wow, this is my favourite place ever, but, like, more because I would have, like, issues with change, with being autistic. […] Because like I even find it difficult like staying away from home anywhere.” 

Researcher: “Have you ever considered not living at home, like moving out?” 

“I mean I think I considered that when I was like 14. But like at the minute I think there’s literally zero chance seen as I can’t work.”