Career does not replace passion and satisfaction; the certainty of work is important but it is better to have a balanced life between profession and private; remuneration is an important sign of valorisation and also a planning tool and above all – a crucial issue that emphasizes how the perception of work is changing – nothing is worth staying in a work context considered toxic. In summary, this is what emerges from a research promoted by the employment agency of SGB Humangest (an Italian group specialized in recruitment, training, human resource management and outsourcing services) and carried out with the technical contribution of Cirsis (Interdepartmental Research Center on Higher Education Systems) of the University of Pavia. The study was conducted on a sample of a thousand young undergraduates and graduates. «Both from our client companies and from what we record internally, we received the solicitation to try to understand a new movement. I am referring to the resignation: because in recent months many workers have chosen to leave their occupation ”, says Gianluca Zelli, sole director of Humangest. “What amazed us above all was the important turnover in the industry”, he continues.
The result? “Young people do not feel the urge to return to the world of work, they are not afraid of staying out even for a long period,” says Zelli. “This is also because – continues Flavio Ceravolo, professor of Sociology who led the research team – unlike what happened to their fathers, both graduates and recent graduates see everything in a holistic way, there is work but there is also life ”, hence the recognized value of smart working by graduates.
And in this perspective, the multiple aspects of trust that must dominate the context within which one’s work performance takes place fall within. The trust that passes through the right recognition in terms of merit (“fairly” important for 33.3% of undergraduates, “very” important only for 8.5 percent; “enough” important for 19.2% of graduates, “very” important for 4.5%) and salary. But also through a healthy and balanced relational climate which in the nuances ranging from “quite” to “a lot” is recognized as crucial by almost 70% of undergraduates and by almost 60% of graduates. It is precisely the toxicity of relationships that constitutes the triggering criterion for career choices: better to get back into the game rather than feel bad.
Hence the recognition of the value of remuneration which is perceived on the one hand as a sign of enhancement, on the other as an important planning tool: “Young people – explains Ceravolo – are projected to work instability and for this reason they ask for adequate remuneration , because in this way they can alternate the moments in which they work with those in which they know they will stay out ». A concrete vision: an adequate remuneration allows to face even the moments of absence of employment with a certain tranquility. Furthermore, adequate remuneration is synonymous with a sustainable lifestyle over time. “The need for a peaceful climate is also seen as an element of productivity,” says Zelli. As if to say: only if you feel good you can work well.