Youth Unemployment and Franz Kafka
What if I told you 9.7% of America’s youth was unemployed, doesn’t sound so bad does it– until you realize that’s actually 4.3 million people! (EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT, 2024, p. 1) Since the post-WW2 era, the youth employment and participation to population rate has fluctuated, but in recent years has steadily declined. In 2022, the rate had changed to 8.7%, which carried over to 2023, until rising to 9.7% this year (p. 1). What can we do to fix these issues; let’s converse ourselves. First, we need to make sure workplaces are a safe environment to ensure everyone there –whether employee or customer– feels welcomed and equal. A happy workplace means happy workers means longer employment. Second, the federal minimum wage needs to be raised: until then, most younger people are going to shy away from jobs paying minimum wage or close to it, which is mainly due to inflation over recent years (U. S. Inflation rate, 2024, p. 1). Unless they are desperate for work, of course. Third, jobs need to be more accessible for the youth. Whether that’s schools giving out lessons on how to effectively find jobs, workplaces removing the no-experience-no-work rule and actually teaching newcomers, or job centers doing advertisements targeted towards the youth, or in general.
One way we can combat youth unemployment is by making sure the youth feels welcomed by their workplace. If people feel welcomed and can enjoy working where they do, they will most likely stay at that job longer than if they didn’t. How can we make everyone feel welcome? Firstly, the workers need a clean environment. Whether that means the actual physical place needs to be clean, or the higher-ups need to make sure employees do not have any conflict with others, a worker in a clean environment can keep a clean record! Secondly, the workplace needs to have some life to it. Nobody wants to work in a bland building with all-white walls and no decor! For example, in an office complex, instead of crappy, cheap, rolling chairs that the workers do not like, give them bean bags. Not only can they last longer than the cheap junk, but they are also very comfy! Next, we will look into research done by a group at Harvard. According to Ben Pfeffer, “as workplace dynamics evolve, generation Z and millennials face a pressing concern…these young individuals tallied the lowest life-satisfaction scores across all age groups” (Pfeffer, 2023, p. 1); which just hammers the point harder. Lastly, add certain areas where workers can de-stress. That doesn’t necessarily mean smoking areas; maybe bring an animal to the workplace that workers can pet if they get stressed, but keep it in a playpen of some kind as to not disturb the workflow. Take those three changes into account and you have yourself a work environment no-one can resist!
Another way youth unemployment can be improved is by raising the minimum wage across the country. Currently, and since 2009, the federal minimum wage has been a whopping $7.25. Inflation has increased roughly 2.6% per year since; which comes out to about 40%! According to CNN, who found research done in 2022 by Oxfam America, “nearly one-third of the nation’s labor force earns less than $15… with less than $31,200 annually,” (Luhby, 2022, p. 1) they can hardly even afford a home, since the average minimum price of one is over $200,000. With this all being said, if the federal minimum wage is increased to even $10, that would make the youth more likely to apply themselves.
The third way to potentially reduce youth unemployment is by making jobs more accessible to the youth. According to youth.gov, “Finding a job can be a challenge for youth. They must determine what careers are available, what their interests are, and what skills they have or need to develop” (Career exploration and skill development, 2024, p.1). How can this be accomplished? One way is by passing a law stating that schools need to educate the youth on how to find jobs and create resumes. For example, schools could teach kids how to do a proper greeting and handshake when doing an interview, teach them to give the interviewers’ your focus and talk clearly. On top of that, anyone who wants to get a job in a competitive workplace would need a good resume that flows smoothly and showcases the worker’s accomplishments and personal traits. Another way to make jobs more accessible is by forcing workplaces to lift the ‘no-experience-no-work’ rule and make those workplaces teach the newcomers how to do the job effectively. From an article by youth.gov:
Mentoring—matching youth with responsible, caring “mentors,” usually adults—has been found to be an important support for youth as they transition to adulthood and the workforce. Mentoring provides opportunities for youth to develop emotional bonds with mentors who have more life experience and can provide support, guidance, and opportunities to help them succeed in life and meet their goals. (Career exploration and skill development, 2024, p.1).
If the experienced workers teach their tricks to the newcomers, they can both get the job done: and faster! The last way to reduce youth unemployment is by having local job centers shoot advertisements about finding jobs! It shouldn’t be too hard, considering the app/website Indeed, which can help find jobs, does advertisements all the time. To conclude, if these three steps were to see action, jobs would be more accessible to the youth.
Overall, youth unemployment is an ongoing problem, but there are a few solutions that can be put in place to make jobs more accessible, such as creating a safe work environment so that workers can try to enjoy their time at work, raising the federal minimum wage, and making more jobs accessible by educating the youth......
.........A societal plague, youth unemployment appears to fluctuate periodically. This issue has a negative impact on societal and economic well-being in addition to limiting human development. A comprehensive strategy is needed to address this problem, and there are several potential answers, the first of which would be to make workplaces more friendly and homely; the next is increasing the minimum wage; and the third would be providing educational materials to assist young people in finding and retaining employment. Franz Kafka's writings can be helpful in this regard because his criticisms of social and bureaucratic structures speak to the difficulties that today's young people experience in the workplace.
In Kafka's books, like "The Castle," the dehumanizing consequences of coercive settings are a major theme. For example, according to James Baker, article writer,
“K is summoned to the village by the count of the castle to operate as a land surveyor. His exact duties… are unclear… In an effort to determine the nature of his work, K tries to contact castle authorities. All of his attempts end up in frustrating failure... K appeals to the officials of the village… he becomes involved in a maze of confusion, incompetence, and petty jealousy… It becomes apparent that he is a land-surveyor only by name… he spends his time surveying his own situation… In the later stages of his effort to clarify his mission he finds that he is denied the comfort of asking limited questions.” (The Castle: A Problem in Structure, 1957, p. 1)
The demand for more compassionate and encouraging work conditions is reflected in Kafka's protagonists' frequent entrapment in bureaucratic and unfriendly workplaces. We combat the very alienation Kafka portrayed by making workplaces more pleasant and inclusive. The repressive environments that Kafka criticized may be destroyed by creating environments where employees feel appreciated and included, which makes his ideas especially pertinent to contemporary workplace reforms. According to SDLC Corp., “Kafka uses Gregor’s metamorphosis as a means to explore existential themes, such as the search for meaning... When work is no longer available to provide structure and purpose, Gregor is left with a sense of emptiness” (The Role of Work and Identity in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, 2024, p. 1). This aspect of Kafka’s writing highlights the importance of people being employed.
Kafka's works consistently highlight the hardships people endure in unjust economic structures; however, none of them directly mention minimum wage. For example, the identical economic inequalities that Kafka revealed are addressed when we support raising the minimum wage. It is crucial to ensure that everyone receives just compensation for their labor in order to avoid the situations in Kafka's works that depict employees as insignificant gears in a machine. One example of this is in “The Trial,” where it “starts with a man waking up... to find a civil servant in his room, telling him he is accused. The man, Josef K, has to find out what he is accused of... and how he can resist the legal procedures... he fails... K is ultimately murdered by two civil servants” (Lies, Laws, and Literature, 2024, p. 1). This goes to show that people in positions of power can take advantage of that power and use it against helpless civilians.
The main characters in Kafka's works usually have to deal with absurd, complex systems that make them feel helpless and insignificant. Young people are confused by the incomprehensible structure of our legal system, as seen in "The Trial," where Josef K's struggles exemplify the problem that many young job seekers face today. By altering the way schools teach students about careers, we can help them overcome these systemic barriers. Kafka's portrayal of the absurd and complex ways in which societal organizations operate highlights the importance of teaching young people how to obtain work.
Finally, Franz Kafka's criticism of social and bureaucratic structures offers a powerful and influential interpretation of the difficulties today's adolescents encounter in obtaining employment. We may fight the economic inequities that Kafka so eloquently portrayed by increasing the minimum wage, improving the livability and enjoyment of workplaces, and offering educational materials. Hopefully, by doing the previously indicated actions and using Kafka's writings as a teaching tool, we can go in the correct direction and assist young people in finding and maintaining employment. Overall, Kafka's writings serve as a reminder to collaborate with those closest to you and treat everyone fairly, since governmental figures won’t.