Invisible Citizens
They are principally between the ages of 24-30 and their education can be anything from no
qualifications to a degree. They often live alone or with their parents / relatives, have had
less than a year’s work experience and never had a stable job. They are mostly out of work.
They are often overwhelmed by their situation and feel excluded from society, some blaming
themselves and others, and some even giving up work. They look to others close to them for
reassurance. Indeed, they do feel that other young people somewhat experience and
understand their situation,but are disillusioned by the lack of understanding of society about
their situation
They have time to engage in other areas but they are frustrated by the lack of opportunities
provided, particularly by the formal services such as jobcentres and housing that they rely
on, as they don’t have a strong enough network to find employment opportunities or build
their skills and confidence. As a result, they internalise their situation and feel insecure.
Their work situation makes them feel somewhat excluded from their neighbourhood and city,
as it becomes too expensive for them.
They often live in inner city neighbourhoods.
Zombie Generation
They are principally between the ages of 21-27 and their education is between high school
qualification and a post doctorate. They will have at least two jobs, often temporary and part
time. They will mainly live with friends, have 1-3 years work experience and have never had
a stable job. Their expectations are centred on getting greater security – whether that’s a
stable job or a house they can call their own.
Many feel scared about what to do to change their situation, but some try and ignore it
altogether as a way of coping.They don’t feel their situation is experienced or even
understood by many of their peers. They do rely on morale support, but as they are so
overworked, they have no time to build relationships with others, and often their relationships
suffer as a result and their anxiety can spread to their closed ones.
They also have no energy to engage in other areas of their life, such that they can be
perceived as being apathetic. Indeed, if they’ve saved up enough money, they’ll try and
move out of their neighbourhood to a better place. They don’t feel politicians understand
their situation and are indifferent to what goes on around them, as politics only focus on
short term issues and not the systemic issues that they face.
They often live in the inner city.
Militant Optimists
They are principally between the ages of 24-30 and their education can be anything from
high school to a masters. They live with their partner (some married) or on their own. They
are often in full time work, have been working for 1-3 years and have got a stable job, some
even a house. They try and achieve the expectations they were brought up to believe – such
as getting a stable career, house, relationship and children. They do see the threat of
precarity getting closer and try to save money to secure stability and hopefully avoid it
happening to them.
They think positively about their work situation and are inspired by how others are
successfully making a living. They also think that most people are in the same situation as
them. They mainly rely on advice from their network to help them progress in their career, as
they do feel pressure to succeed.
Their satisfaction with their work situation spills over into other areas – enjoying what their
neighbourhood, city and public services have to offer. They don’t feel politicians do enough
however. They are aware of social issues and although they know that Europe is blamed for
many things, they acknowledge that it does provide support for young people, which is why
they feel it needs to unite around a common vision.
They often live close to the city centre.
Lifestyle Hacker / Free Rangers
They are principally between the ages of 27-33 and their education is between a degree and
a post doctorate. They will be either out of work or underworked, but with some having
started their own business or project. They will mainly live with friends with have over 5
years work experience. They will have changed their expectations about what’s important to
them in life, focusing instead on building relationships and applying their skills to make a
living.
They’ve gone through different stages of coping, from initially reflecting on their situation to
looking for ways to improve as a way to stay resilient and even to become independent of
pressures that traditional work lifestyles impose. They think that most young people are in
the same situation as them, and would like to help them understand how they can be more
in control of their destiny and apply their skills to make a living. They see their own assets as
the best form of support.Although many of these are unemployed or underworked, they
make use of their networks to share assets and skills, often not bothering with formal
support. They do feel that other generations don’t understand their situation.
They try to push for positively changing as much as possible around them through building
projects with and through their networks. Although they feel that the current way of doing
politics is no longer relevant to them, in particular because it protects vested interests, their
work situation has politicised them, to the extent that they encourage others around them to
be aware of issues and do something about them.
They often live on the outskirts of the city, where it borders with the countryside.