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“I’m thinking of traveling around the world and living in nature with little money,” says a post on a Reddit forum for NEETs. “I worked in a retail store and the first few hours were fine, but then I had to deal with customers,” another wrote. “I packed my bags and left.”
In this forum, a community of 44,000 people from around the world share advice and discuss the challenges of being NEET (an acronym for Not in Education, Employment or Training).
This isn’t just an online phenomenon. “I can never go back to a normal job again,” Morgan, who left his job in 2020 and asked to remain anonymous, told the FT. “With inflation and rising rents, the incentive to spend all your time with your employer and live just on the edge no longer makes sense.”
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In the third quarter of this year, official UK figures showed that 13% of 16 to 24-year-olds, or nearly 1 million people, were NEETs. Two-fifths of these were looking for work. The rest were “economically inactive”, neither working nor searching, and opted out of the labor market altogether.
As a result, the number of economically incapacitated young people is nearing its highest level. The situation is similar in Europe and the United States, where more than one in ten young people is NEET.
The term first came to prominence in the 1990s when British government policies sought to help older teenagers get into work, but has since been used internationally and for a wider range of economically inactive people. It has been adopted by many subcultures. Reddit’s NEET forum includes people in their 50s. Recent posts depict a “self-hating man in his late 20s to early 30s who does nothing” and ask “Can NEETs over 30 turn their lives around?” .
Morgan, now 30, started working as a car salesman 10 years ago, but was forced to quit his job due to depression and an illness that kept him in and out of hospital. When he recovered, his industry was shut down due to the pandemic. He quit his job and used the time to teach himself how to repair old cars and post videos online.
“Even if I didn’t make any money, the time I spent developing my interests was worth more than I could have earned from working,” he says. But eventually the bills started piling up. “I got kicked out on the street for not paying rent. I lived in my car for a few days until a friend picked me up. I’m lucky to be here now.”
Josh, 24, decided it wasn’t worth the money and dropped out of college. “I then took a few jobs in retail, but found it difficult to interact with people at work due to my social anxiety,” he told the FT. Now I’m back with my parents and they support me. I help my mother with housework and am trying to learn programming on my own. ”
Louise Murphy, an economist at the Resolution Foundation think tank, said mental health was one of the factors behind the rise in NEET numbers, with the proportion of young people reporting disorders such as anxiety and bipolar disorder increasing over 20 years. He said the number of cases increased by one-quarter to one-third. This makes them more likely to become unemployed. The RF report found between 2018 and 2022 that 21% of 18-24 year olds with a mental health problem are unemployed, compared to 13% of those without. I’m doing it.
Niall O’Higgins, an economist at the International Labor Organization, suggested that young people are also disillusioned with the quality of jobs on offer and “lack prospects for growth, on-the-job training and the ability to increase their options.” are.
Employers are making themselves more attractive by offering flexibility and support, such as “exploring alternatives to organizing work,” he said. A survey of Gen Z workers conducted by talent sourcing platform A.Team found that 80% said a four-day work week should be the norm, and 60% wanted a hybrid work model. respondents said that only half of their training opportunities were valued.
Murphy says nurturing relationships can have a big impact. “When we asked young people what they would change about the world of work, they didn’t want big, flashy reforms. They wanted more humane, understanding managers. ” This may include additions such as one-on-one catch-ups, which are not standard in all professions.
“I resent the accusation that young people don’t want to work,” Morgan said. “Everyone wants to contribute, but often the rewards aren’t worth the time it takes to contribute.”
