Youth Going Back To Work

No matter how much you believe it or not, the ideas that the younger generation does not want to work, do not make good workers, etc., are ubiquitous enough that we have all heard it. So I am here to bring some good summer news via a CNN article that says maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem. And maybe in the end the answers behind this apparent trend are simpler than they seemed.

First, things just seem to be getting better as we move further away from COVID.  The teens of working age now were not of working age when the pandemic started. And remember what it was like being a teen? A lot of it stunk. Now imagine going through that time of life as the world shuts down around you? Yeah, maybe getting a job wouldn’t have been the first thing on your mind either.

And even beyond any person’s or generation’s feelings about work, there is the matter of parents pushing kids to get a job, even temporary seasonal ones over the summer. When the outside world felt so scary, much of that impetus would have gone away, too.

Next, pay increases are also adding to the younger people going to work. Imagine that, actually feeling of value when you do something has a positive impact.

At the same time, however, the article notes the continuing inability to fill some spots, including lifeguards. But can’t the same issues be at work here? If someone is looking for 16- to 18-year-olds to fill such positions, that means they were 12- to 14-year-olds in the summer of 2020 and it’s definitely understandable that many in that range may not have been out continuing swimming lessons at that time and staying on the path to potentially becoming a lifeguard. A current lack of applicants then may just make sense.

Overall, no matter the answers, these clearly aren’t really easy ones and there’s not one overarching conclusion. Even if we are not talking about a wild generational and/or cultural shift, we are talking about a global pandemic. I do think, however, there is a lesson here to not cast our lots too strong in any one spot. If we are open to things evolving, then we can see them as they change instead of thinking we already have the answers.

And as they do, maybe all the pools will even be open again in a couple years.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
Connect to Us ~ Facebook ~ Twitter