Young Europeans' Orientations to Families and Work

Abstract

This article explores the orientations of young people (aged 18-30) to family and employment. We draw on data collected as part of a qualitative transnational study conducted in five European countries: the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Norway, and Sweden. The young people who participated in this study were either employed, in education or training programs, or unemployed. Some of the salient social and economic trends across Europe and some national differences are first described briefly as background to the study. The meanings that these young adults attach to family, their current work-life priorities, and the work and family arrangements that they envisage for the future are then discussed. In the context of longer periods spent in education or training and the growing insecurity of work, the participants appear to live in an extended present, where current work-life priorities remain sharply in focus. As a consequence of living in an extended present, it is difficult for them to plan for future work and family arrangements. The future scenarios envisaged differ cross-nationally, reflecting social, economic, and ideological context.