Value of work in the experience of the young generation of Visegrad countries

Abstract

The paper discusses the issues of experience and value of work, one of the elements of economic awareness of the young generation-students from the Visegrad countries. The paper presents the concept of work and its value according to Ronald Inglehart's value system. An analysis was carried out based on empirical research conducted in April-May 2015 and November 2016 in higher education institutions in the V4 countries (Poland: Katowice, Slovakia: Nitra, Czech Republic: Olomouc/Ostrava, Hungary: Gödöllő). 1 In each country, the student groups were selected according to the auditor survey technique. The research covered Bachelor and Master students from four different types of studies: Economics, Management, Technical, Sciences, Medicine, Social Studies and Humanities. The resulting discussion concerns the work experience of the students in V4 countries and their statements concerning the value of work. A comparison will be made among the four national groups. In the "Discussion and Conclusion" part research questions are answered and a complex indicator of the value of work is constructed. The conclusion also contains a reference to Inglehart's theory and an answer concerning the question in which direction the values of work of the young generation in V4 countries are heading.

Students and their professional work in international perspective. Comparative analysis of social attitudes

“…Since the research results have shown that it is hard to find a job in own country, maybe going abroad and having a chance to be seen on a global labour marker is a better option. Especially because, as our research show, students during studies are willing to take up a professional work, but it is a job that is incompatible with their education [18,19]. Labour market offers series of positions which enable to combine studies with professional work.…”

“…Working during studies shows their positive attitude towards it. As our research has shown, students take up work during studies for various reasons [18,19]. Diversification is most likely due to access to the labour market and employment possibilities.…”

“…Czech students most often work part-time or they have casual work (35,8%). The lowest percentage of them, among all V4 students, don't work -24,4% [18,19]. Slovak students most commonly work part-time (42,6%).…”

“…Hungarian students are the one who take up work most commonly among examined V4 students (76,3%), both during academic year and holidays. Hungarian students most often among others work according to their qualifications (33,3%) [18,19].…”

Rankings in Students’ decision-making process in Poland – implications for university management

“…Undoubtedly, what also plays a role here is a respondent's individual situation connected with their place of work, financial, family situation and attachment to a given school (well-known rules, teachers, infrastructure, etc.). The similar research in the field also finds these features essential for the students' preferences, including their future work choice (Swadźba & Horáková Hirschler, 2019;Sułkowski et al, 2020). The authors do not exclude the fact that in the analyzed decision-making processes some latent variables that were not directly measured appeared additionally.…”