“Time for a Comeback”: Young Workers’ Resistance Trajectories in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Young workers live in challenging times, facing threats to both the quality and quantity of their employment globally (ILO, 2012). Youth experience extended periods of poor quality, precarious employment, and consistently high unemployment and underemployment (Shin et al., 2023; Verick, 2023; Wyn & Woodman, 2021). Despite this disadvantageous context, few employment relations studies have focused on young workers’ resistance (for exceptions, see Lucas, 1997; Tailby & Pollert, 2011; Yang et al., 2020). Indeed, studies suggest that young worker resistance faces significant barriers: youth are in difficult-to-organise workplaces (Aleks et al., 2020; Tailby & Pollert, 2011), to some extent normalise their experiences (Berry & McDaniel, 2020; Mrozowicki & Trappmann, 2021), and hold a perception of reduced control over their work and lives (Chesters et al., 2019; Einboden et al., 2021; Ewertowska, 2020).

However, international and New Zealand studies also indicate potential for youth resistance (Bakkevig Dagsland et al., 2015; Ewertowska, 2020; Mrozowicki et al., 2018). Some young workers are critically aware of the structures which shape their lives, and express disquiet over their exploitative work conditions (Bakkevig Dagsland et al., 2015; Ewertowska, 2020; Mrozowicki et al., 2018). Moreover, studies have found evidence of informal student resistance, including larger-scale collective action (Yang et al., 2020), and individual workplace resistance (Lucas, 1997).

This doctoral research set out to respond to this tension and gap in understanding of whether young workers resist, and if so, how, and what shapes their resistance. The overarching research question was: How do young workers in Aotearoa New Zealand experience resistance across their working lives? The research was conducted in Aotearoa New Zealand, where youth experience poor work conditions and labour market outcomes (Anderson, 2019; Ewertowska, 2020; Mooney, 2016) reflective of the international youth context (Shin et al., 2023; Verick, 2023).

The research was designed within a critical theory paradigm, with the understanding that research should produce knowledge which challenges power relations (Denzin et al., 2024). The arts-informed research methodology drew on principles of art to empower participants (Cole & Knowles, 2008). Data were collected online and in person during 2022 and 2023 with 21 young workers aged 20 to 30 across three urban areas on the North Island of New Zealand. Collage making in a group setting produced in-depth data on young workers’ resistance and other responses (Butler-Kisber, 2010; Roberts & Woods, 2018). Collage making was followed by individual semi-structured follow-up interviews (Bryman, 2012; Mackworth-Young et al., 2022) and member checking through a town hall meeting (Schaefle et al., 2011; Zuckerman-Parker & Shank, 2008). Data analysis utilised Big Q thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2020).

While workplace and labour market contexts could theoretically have led to normalisation (Berry & McDaniel, 2020; Mrozowicki & Trappmann, 2021), the findings show how young workers’ contexts both constrained and enabled resistance. Over time, repeated experiences of disposability and poor conditions during extended transitions fostered young workers' resistance. Culture shock also prompted young workers' resistance: prior socialisation meant that youth perceived their negative work experiences as unexpected and unjust.

The thesis concludes that young workers’ resistance develops over their working lives and is intertwined with other responses. Resistance and other responses interweave into a trajectory with two types of stages: active resistance and periods of retreat to grow and sustain long-term resistance. Young workers’ resistance moved from early experiences such as raising concerns and quitting, to renewed forms of speaking up and resisting for others, and, for some, grassroots mobilisation. Interspersed with resistance were periods of stepping back for self-care and reflection, learning from others and through self-education, and building mutual support. The resistance trajectory shows how a range of responses to disadvantage are critical over time, offering a new perspective on debates about whether young workers resist or acquiesce.