America is aging and we’re in a recession. Jobs are scarce, especially for the young and inexperienced. We know these things.
A natural response to these discomfiting facts is to do what most young people do: assume they won’t affect you.
But they will.
As Don Peck wrote in March’s Atlantic, a prolonged period of joblessness early in adulthood changes a generation. Citing research from Yale economist Lisa Kahn, Peck argues that a generation hit by high rates of unemployment stays poorer, more stagnant and less fulfilled by work than a generation without a stint of joblessness.
This abrupt and fundamental shift in the workforce will create its share of difficulties. Sadly, many will be unable to adjust. Adding to the distress is the fact that the current economy does not have room for all of us to follow our hearts, at least not into established jobs.
As Daniel Henninger wrote in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal, “Since 1990, roughly 80 million Americans have been born. They can’t all be organic farmers or write scripts for ‘30 Rock.’”
This is the crux of it: We won’t be able to count on someone older giving us a job. Instead of waiting for a job offer, we need to come up with ideas.
The way forward seems to be to combine the activist heart of our generation with a commitment to free-flowing entrepreneurship, on both large and small scales. Much of this activist entrepreneurship will necessarily happen online.
But the answer, no matter where innovation happens, can’t be to grasp for the first available job and substitute stagnation and cynicism for dynamism, as other recession-fatigued generations have done. Nor can it be to grope for a government job, even if it looks like they’re the only one hiring.
Luckily, there are some examples to follow, from the creator of TOMS Shoes — a fine example of activism mixed with entrepreneurship — to the many smaller companies that are attempting to mix music, or technology, or fashion, or food, or social networking with a cause-oriented philosophy. Like entrepreneurs have for hundreds of years, these young people are giving us something we want, and a reason to care about it.
It’s possible that this recession will be, strangely, a great gift to this generation. Rather than simply mustering into some established job, into some plodding career that’s more of a life sentence than a vocation, we’ll have the chance to rethink the way we relate to work, and what work can mean in a life.
Perhaps we’ll still be poorer than previous generations. Economic progress isn’t a guarantee, and doing what you love isn’t always incredibly profitable. But if we understand the role of work in life and find meaning in the work we make for ourselves and others, there’s no reason why this period of joblessness should ruin us.
Reach Will at wmunsil@asu.edu
