What are ‘good jobs’ for young people?

At Youth Futures Foundation, we want all young people to have access to good work. But what is ‘good work’ for a young person?

Dr Hannah King, UK Research and Innovation Policy Fellow from Durham University, has joined us to try to find out.

Good vs. bad work: Why does it matter? 

The jobs we do can govern our quality of life. They influence health, wellbeing, and living standards for individuals and families; they shape productivity, inclusion, and cohesion in society; and they can transform the economy (World Bank, 2014). 

Yet high levels of employment do not necessarily mean a satisfied, healthy, and productive workforce. Bad jobs can seriously harm our health and wellbeing; create in-work poverty; perpetuate inequalities; and restrict social mobility. This leads to issues of recruitment, retention, and efficiency for employers; and it has knock-on impacts for society, including increased healthcare and social costs. 

The growth of precarious and insecure work in the UK has widened the gulf between good and bad jobs. This can paint a bleak picture for young people entering the labour market, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Youth Futures’ Youth Employment 2024 Outlook highlighted the stubbornly high rates of young people not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEET) in the UK, with 872,000 16 to 24-year-olds not earning or learning. 

Globally, the youth employment challenge is enormous, with around one fifth (270 million) of young people currently NEET and over 123 million young people working but in poverty (ILO, 2024). The global Decent Jobs for Youth initiative champions a collaborative approach to tackling youth unemployment and realising the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.  

But what does good work look like? 

Defining ‘good work’ is a complex task that has challenged experts globally over the last decade. Job quality is a multidimensional phenomenon. Social, cultural, and economic factors influence what we think of as ‘good work’. The Covid-19 pandemic, for example, has changed working norms in many sectors. What constitutes ‘good work’ can also vary at an individual level, based on personal needs and aspirations. This means jobs can be simultaneously good and bad, subjectively and objectively. Objective features are those that meet workers’ needs, such as pay, whereas subjective features are based on workers’ individual preferences.  

Following the Taylor Review of Modern Employment Practices (2017), experts and stakeholders have broadly reached consensus on the key dimensions of ‘good work’. Drawing on the work of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), the seven dimensions of job quality are:  

• Terms of employment (e.g., job security, minimum guaranteed hours). 

• Pay and benefits. 

• Job design and nature of work, (e.g., as use of skills, opportunities for progression, sense of purpose). 

• Social support and cohesion through peers and managers.  

• Health, safety, and psychosocial wellbeing. 

• Work-life balance. 

• Voice and representation (e.g., trade union membership).
  

This definition was developed for all working age adults. What then, for young people?

What do young people want and need to thrive at work? In which sectors and where in the country can good jobs for young people be found? And crucially, what can government, employers, and support services do to create good jobs for young people? 

These are the questions Dr Hannah King is exploring. Working with young people, employers, policymakers and other key stakeholders, the research aims to understand what makes ‘good work’ for young people, and how ‘good jobs’ can be created to shape a future where all young people have equitable access to good work. 

If you are aged 16-24 and interested in participating in an interview about good work, or if you know a young person who might be interested, please contact hannah.king@youthfuturesfoundation.org for more information.