Woodgate Roberta L, Isaak Corinne A, Witt Julia, Tennent Pauline, Bell Ashley
College of Nursing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, 89 Curry Pl, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada.
Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts, University of Manitoba, 15 Chancellors Circle, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Feb 21;25(1):715. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21515-y.
Young people across the world are facing numerous challenges, with unemployment and precarious employment being substantial issues, impacting young people with all levels of education. For many young people, the pandemic exacerbated their employment precarity. While efforts were made to ameliorate these pandemic related challenges for young people, information about the employment preferences of Canadian young workers (YW) is limited. The aim of this study was to understand the employment needs, challenges and preferences of Canadian YW in the COVID-19 era and beyond.
Using discrete choice experiment, YW from across Canada aged 18-29 years old were recruited to participate in an online survey October 2022 to April 2023 which was offered in both English and French. Nine job attributes were identified based on findings from the qualitative component of this mixed methods project: wage, earnings stability, job flexibility, vacation, sick time, health insurance, and workplace policies (respectful workplace, and being valued and understood as an employee). Respondents were presented with nine choice sets, each representing two scenarios that differ on policies or actions (attributes) related to their employment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on the respondent (N = 231) sample, analysis revealed that of YW aged 18-29 years, most valued having employment benefits along with workplace policies. These values were strongest for women and 18-21-year-olds. Overall, the employment preferences of Canadian YW in the current study align with four of five attributes considered by the International Labour Organization as minimum standards for decent work. These include adequate compensation, adequate access to health care, adequate free time and rest, and organizational values that support one's [own and] family values. More specifically, study findings show that within the cohort there are strong gendered and aged-based preferences for non-monetary over monetary job attributes. These include employment benefits along with equitable, supportive employment policies.
The findings suggest that health and wellbeing are highly valued by YW and are among key drivers of employment preferences for Canadian YW during and after the pandemic, and therefore call for policies in the workplace that support the health and well-being of YW.
世界各地的年轻人面临着众多挑战，失业和不稳定就业是重大问题，影响着各个教育水平的年轻人。对许多年轻人来说，疫情加剧了他们就业的不稳定。虽然人们努力缓解年轻人面临的这些与疫情相关的挑战，但关于加拿大年轻工人（YW）就业偏好的信息却很有限。本研究的目的是了解新冠疫情时代及之后加拿大年轻工人的就业需求、挑战和偏好。
采用离散选择实验，招募了来自加拿大各地年龄在18至29岁的年轻工人，于2022年10月至2023年4月参加一项在线调查，该调查提供英语和法语两种语言版本。基于这个混合方法项目定性部分的研究结果，确定了九个工作属性：工资、收入稳定性、工作灵活性、假期、病假时间、医疗保险以及工作场所政策（尊重员工的工作场所、被重视和理解为员工）。向受访者展示了九个选择集，每个选择集代表两种在新冠疫情期间与其就业相关的政策或行动（属性）不同的情景。
基于受访者（N = 231）样本，分析显示，在18至29岁的年轻工人中，大多数人重视就业福利以及工作场所政策。这些价值观在女性和18至21岁的人群中最为强烈。总体而言，本研究中加拿大年轻工人的就业偏好与国际劳工组织视为体面工作最低标准的五个属性中的四个相符。这些属性包括足够的薪酬、足够的医疗保健机会、足够的自由时间和休息，以及支持个人[自身和]家庭价值观的组织价值观。更具体地说，研究结果表明，在这个群体中，对于非货币性工作属性而非货币性工作属性，存在强烈的基于性别和年龄的偏好。这些属性包括就业福利以及公平、支持性的就业政策。
研究结果表明，年轻工人高度重视健康和福祉，这是疫情期间及之后加拿大年轻工人就业偏好的关键驱动因素之一，因此需要出台支持年轻工人健康和福祉的工作场所政策。
