YOUTH 2020 - The position of young people in Slovenia

136 The ‘good earnings’ category is slightly different. In 2010, it ranked high- est with a value of 4.31, but in 2020, the importance of earnings dropped to sixth place with a value of 4.15. In this respect, a certain shift among young Slovenians towards greater ‘postmaterialism’ (Inglehart and Bak- er, 2000) can be observed, seen along the line of the value shift from ‘survival to self-expression’. The qualitative data collected also support these findings. The interviews with young people point to perceptions in which employment is not only a means of survival, but also one of the keys to self-realisation and development. “For me, work is the meaning of life. We spend most of our time at work, so it seems to me of utmost importance to do what makes us happy and ful- filled. If we are unhappy at work, I think it is difficult to be happy in life. In my opinion, work should never be seen as ‘something necessary to make money’, but as a way of life.” (Daša, 25 years old, young entrepreneur and student) “Yes, employment is very important. Partly for the money, partly for the promotion. For myself, if I had enough money, I would still go to work. I would get new experience and I would get promoted. You get new knowl- edge and you develop.” (Ahac, 15 years old, high school student, athlete and model-maker) “Yes, having employment is important. You just have to make sure you’re doing what you enjoy.” (Benjamin, 17 years old, young musician) However, there are also gender differences in the elements of work. Job security is significantly more important to young women (p < 0.01) than to young men (4.41 vs. 4.03). Statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) at the level of gender also emerge in terms of the “pro-social com- ponents of work” – young women thus care more about being able to help others in their work, being able to socialise and talk to colleagues, and that their work is beneficial for society.