20. August 2024
A quarter would like to change jobs © APA/THEMENBILD/HANS PUNZ
The work climate index of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor (AK OÖ) paints an alarming picture: According to the survey, many young employees are doing poorly. “A quarter want to change jobs,” reported social researcher Daniel Schönherr on Tuesday in a press conference with AK-OÖ President Andreas Stangl. 58 percent of those under 26 are in atypical employment relationships such as part-time, marginal, temporary or fixed-term work.
According to the AK, fixed-term contracts in particular are on the rise. “Almost a fifth of people work on fixed-term contracts – that’s four times as many as adults and twice as many as 20 years ago,” says Schönherr from the Foresight Institute. Apprentices are not included in this. Young employees in the tourism, agriculture and teaching sectors in particular are falling into these chain contracts. The relatively short employment period of just six months on average is also stressful – for older employees the average is twelve months.
In addition, according to the survey, 16 percent of young people also live in temporary tenancies. “This is probably also a reason why job satisfaction is declining,” said Schönherr. “Job satisfaction is plummeting in many areas.” Before the pandemic, in 2019, it was still higher than that of older people – 81 percent were satisfied, now (2023) that is only 60 percent. At that time, 87 percent of young employees were satisfied with their lives overall, currently it is 71 percent versus 80 percent for those over 25 (2019: 86 percent).
Among older adults, job satisfaction is now recovering, but among younger people it is stagnating. “Among adults, job satisfaction has also fallen, but not as much as among young people,” says Schönherr.
Only two thirds (68 percent) of young employees are satisfied with their colleagues – before Corona, the figure was 85 percent. 14 percent of young people feel strongly or very strongly stressed at work due to loneliness and isolation, twice as many as older people (7 percent). This even applies to a third of those under 25 who work from home. This is also due to the unstable working conditions, explained IFES Managing Director Reinhard Raml.
25 percent of young people and 21 percent of older people complain about constant work pressure with no time to catch their breath. 21 percent of those under 25 also complain about a constant change in work processes. “It is currently much more difficult for younger people in their professional lives,” said Raml. Before the pandemic, younger people were happier when they started their careers. “What was stable for a long time has changed as a result of the pandemic, which means we are stagnating at a level that is quite worrying.” The pandemic has been over for a while now. “This is already a form of long Covid,” said the pollster.
The working environment has become much more crowded. 71 percent of young employees have “a relatively strong feeling of disinterest in work” – in 2019, the figure was 41 percent. This is not to be equated with laziness. Depression has also risen sharply. “The youth psychiatric ward is full.” But general irritability as a result of stress and pressure is also relatively high. The inability to switch off has increased significantly after the corona pandemic.
“The structure is not such that we see any easing of the labor market,” noted Raml. In the next ten years, a lot of people will retire. “It is certainly true that work intensification is increasing.” Smartphones and new media are also increasing the pressure, said the IFES boss, also with a view to constant availability.
According to the survey, the majority of young workers cannot live off their jobs and are dependent on financial support. Before the pandemic, 60 percent managed without financial support, now it is only 40 percent. 28 percent cannot afford to go on vacation and 16 percent are worried that they will no longer be able to afford the rent in six months.
The AK is now calling for a ban on temporary work and fixed-term employment contracts for under-18s, unless there is a reason such as maternity leave cover or holiday work. “That is not necessary because you can always quit anyway – there are just frowned-upon reasons,” emphasised AK-OÖ President Stangl. The Chamber of Labour is also calling for the expansion of social work in the area of school psychology, “especially in vocational schools”. And furthermore: “We do not believe that fixed-term tenancies are necessary – we are calling for the abolition of fixed-term tenancy agreements – if you need the property for your own use, you should of course be able to use it,” said Stangl.
According to Raml, the basis of the current survey was a random sample of over 4,000 employed persons, including up to 500 young people, who provided information in person and in online interviews in 2023. According to statistics, around 450,000 young people under the age of 26 are employed in Austria.
