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Young People and the Future of Work
Young People and the Future of Work
Abstract Submissions Closed
Friday, 26 February 2021: 14:15-15:45
Location:
RC34 Sociology of Youth (host committee)
Language: English and Spanish
Session Type: Oral
What is the future of work, and what meaning do the current generation of young people attribute to work, and how do they see the future? According to ILO definitions and statistics ‘non-standard work’ is now more common than ‘standard work’, a trend which indicates that most people in the world do not secure an income though formal or conventional employment. This is already true in the global South, is disproportionately true for young people, and will be exacerbated by the impending fourth industrial revolution. How does the sociology of youth address these changes? What innovations are there in new sectors of work, and how might technological change in the domains of automation, digitalisation, and biotechnology, for example, bring about opportunities for young people in conventional sectors? How might a sectoral analysis be useful in moving us beyond a focus on conventional entrepreneurship into new, overlooked sectors? How might speaking about the ‘lavender economy’ (the helping and caring professions), 'orange economy' (creative industries), 'blue economy' (oceans), 'green economy' (energy), 'invisible economy' (unpaid and exploitative work), 'third sector' (community work), and the 'unknown economy' (x-tech), help us? How do young people experience personal development, agency, self-determination and their quest for dignified livelihoods as the world of work changes? Papers are invited that address these and other questions. In particular we welcome papers that are conjectural, ground-breaking, work in progress and that have the potential to change the direction of youth sociology and the sociology of work.
Session Organizers: