The first in-depth interviews were conducted by the experts in project „L.I.K.E. – Life Investment is the Key to Employment“ with parents of young people who are neither working nor studying. The purpose of this study is to understand the reasons for the passivity of the target group in the labor market. The specific needs of young people are analyzed through questionnaires, interviews with parents and relatives, as well as focus groups with employers.
All of the parents interviewed so far have finished higher education and the common between their children is that they are not involved in studying, training or working. The age group that the young people belong to is between 20 and 24 years of age and they use marijuana and/or stimulants.
The interviews were conducted on an outpatient basis after informed consent.
The questions cover topics related to the problems of their children – qualities that need to be promoted and characteristics that prevent them from socializing and finding a job – the attitude of the society towards them and the attitude of the institutions from which they have sought assistance.
Participants tend to view the helplessness of their youth as a result of excessive care.
Parents’ useful qualities and skills for young people are: responsibility, initiative, hard work, empathy for relatives, commitment, perseverance, resilience, sincerity, openness, activity, commitment, concern for family, higher self-esteem, confidence and a desire for work. For themselves, parents find it useful to be: firm, relentless, resistant to manipulation, to have the skills to motivate and to control their emotions, to achieve more calmness and the ability to listen calmly.
The parents included in the study so far describe the resistance of young people who do not work or study, as heavy, definite, extreme and insurmountable. Behind the resistance, they think, lay uncertainty, anxiety, demotivation, fear of disappointment and loss of social competences. Ways to get out of conversations about starting a job and improving socialization (most often associated with changing of the environment) are most often unfulfilled promises or termination of the conversation by the young people.
Most of the interviewed so far described the society’s attitude toward their children as negative. They cite the lack of interest of young people and neglect of their appearance.
Loss of social skills was cited by parents as a common observed feature. As a useful and motivating for employment and socialization, parents of young people see entering a well-paid position and communication with others
Most of the parents consider their children’s worries as meaningless and not real. However, they hold their own fears regarding the physical and mental health of their children, their social development and realization, as well as family formation and offspring.