Continuity and change in attitudes to job security across two generations of young Australian adults

Abstract

Responses to the rise of insecure work are complicated by claims that emerging generations place less importance on security of employment, preferring ‘flexibility’. This paper investigates attitudes towards job security among young adults in Australia using survey and semi-structured interview data from the Life Patterns Study, a mixed-methods longitudinal study of two cohorts of Australian young adults (finishing school 15 years apart, in 1991 and 2006). Analysis shows that, contrary to the stereotype, job security was rated as the most important factor in deciding on a job by both cohorts. Moreover, although they also said they value flexibility, the school leaving cohort of 2006 put grea..