The young people speak. It’s time to hear them.
A survey of the future that has already arrived
“We work, but we don’t live.”
“We don’t ask for everything. We ask for what should go without saying.”
“It’s not that we can’t afford it. It’s that it’s not worth it.”
These are not phrases from a manifesto. They are responses from the nationwide Youth & Work survey, conducted by QED of over 3,000 people aged 18-35. They did not speak in theory. They spoke about their present – and about a tomorrow that seems increasingly hypothetical.
We heard. And what we heard is far from tranquil.
Work for the younger generation is not just a means of earning a living. It is a point of friction, questioning and redefinition. Young people are no longer driven by the question “what job should I do?” but by “on what terms, in what context and with what consequences?”
The numbers are eye-opening:
– 1 in 4 work part-time without having chosen to do so.
– 3 in 10 have already combined two or more jobs.
– The real income of 18-34 year olds has fallen by 28.4% since 2009.
And all this against the backdrop of a market that advertises ‘opportunity’ but offers insecurity.
Work, for a large part of the younger generation, is associated with discomfort and mental stress:
– 75% of young workers say they experience intense stress.
– 1 in 2 have felt that their personal boundaries have been violated.
– Many describe their first work experience as “traumatic”.
Without care, work ceases to be a development and becomes an abuse.
Young people’s attitudes towards work vary considerably depending on the sector, experiences and potential for expression:
– In tourism and catering: job exhaustion without prospects.
– In commerce and retail: a feeling of control and under-utilisation of skills.
– In the creative sector: connection with the subject but a strong sense of precariousness.
– In technology: opportunities with conditions of dignity.
– In the public sector: stability but also immobility.
The challenge is common:
Working environments that treat young people as people – not just as roles.
Work is no longer the centre of young people’s identity. It is one of the fields in which they want to be useful – not subservient.
Young people:
– Prefer flexibility, not impunity.
– They demand limits, not laxity.
– They demand purity of roles, not production lines with human faces.
And above all: they are no longer convinced by employer branding. They want to experience it.
The “Youth & Work” survey serves as a tool for analysis and redesign. It is not statistical. They are stories. They are not numbers. They are bells and whistles. They are not trends. They are the new reality.
QED has designed an immersion workshop specifically for HR, Management, Communications and Innovation teams who want:
– Understand the new generation beyond stereotypes
– to gain practical insights
– review their policies (onboarding, mentoring, leadership)
The workshop is hands-on, with adaptation to the specific industry or organizational level.
The question is not “what are young people asking for”.
The question is: are we ready to listen to them – and change something?
If you are interested in learning more about the workshop, get demo content or talk about implementation in your organisation, email us: info@qed.gr
Young people speak. Time to listen.
And then take the next step – together.