This article is from WeChat official account:Cultural aspect (ID: whzh_21bcr)< span class = "text-remarks">, author: Li Xiumei (School of Social development East China University of Political Science), the olive leaf (Master of Sociology Department of Fudan University), Gui Yong (Professor of Sociology Department of Fudan University), formerly entitled ” Between Materialism and Post-Materialism—The Change of College Students’ Employment Attitudes in the Post-epidemic Era”, head picture from: Visual China


Guide to Reading

Employment is the foundation of people’s livelihood, and youth employment is the top priority of employment work. In recent years, the scale of college graduates in my country has been increasing year by year. Since last year, affected by the epidemic, the economic situation at home and abroad has been severe, which has also caused a greater impact on the employment of graduates. In this context, the real employment intentions and attitudes of college students are an important issue of particular concern to all sectors of society.

Based on the two surveys of college students’ social mentality in 2015 and 2020, this article focuses on the changes in the employment outlook of college students and the differences in the employment outlook of the post-95s and post-00s. The survey shows that from 2015 to 2020, from post-95s to post-00s, college students’ job selection standards are more rational and pragmatic, and their importance and expectations for income are increasing; from the perspective of preference, party and government agencies, institutions, state-owned enterprises and other systems work The attractiveness of the university is increasing, and the proportion of people who tend to go to foreign companies and entrepreneurs has dropped significantly. Employment in big cities continues to be favored(Unlike media reports, college students still embrace Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. “Escape” is not the original intention).

Different graduates have different employment destinations-211 college students are more inclined to choose high-paying companies, general undergraduate college students prefer civil servants, and college students love entrepreneurship. The survey also shows that in the post-epidemic era, college students have the characteristics of low employment confidence and anxiety and confusion about personal development, while their employment attitude is the characteristics of being willing to compromise in many aspects, but not compromising in salary. The author believes that this is related to the feeling of material scarcity caused by the impact of the epidemic on the economy. This forces young people to pay more attention to survival protection, and also reflects the combination and contradiction of materialism and post-materialism among young people.

For “post-95s” and “post-00s” college students, most of the economic conditions during their growth are relatively affluent and less restricted by material conditions, so most of them regard the pursuit of personal values ​​as their primary career choice standard. But at the same time, compared with the “post-95s”, the “post-00s” grew up in the accelerated stage of my country’s market economic system reform, and were more deeply penetrated by market economic values. As a result, they have a stronger sense of reality and a pragmatic spirit and pursue material The accumulation of wealth and the desire to realize “freedom of wealth” are also stronger.

In addition, the proportion of college students who use “comfort” and “stability” as the primary criteria for evaluating the quality of work has increased, the proportion of college students who choose “comfort” has risen from 5.4% in 2015 to In 2020, 8.8%, the proportion of college students who chose “stable” rose from 5.9% in 2015 to 8.0% in 2020. As more and more people in the workplace ridiculed the nature of their work with titles such as “workers” and “community animals”, work comfort and stability have gradually become important factors that more college students consider when choosing jobs.

“Post-00s” are the generation that enjoys the most generous growth dividends. They have better economic conditions than “post-95s”. While they value wealth accumulation, they also pay great attention to the quality of life. Compared with “post-95” college students, “post-00” college students may pay more attention to work-life balance when choosing a job.

(2) IncomeLooking forward to general improvement

For college students, how much income is a satisfactory income?

Compared with 2015, in the 2020 survey, college students’ expectation of income from their first job has increased significantly. This change also confirms the importance of college students’ income when choosing a career. In the 2015 survey, nearly half of (47.5%) college students expected a monthly income from their first job of 2001~5000 yuan. Correspondingly, compared with 2015, the proportion of college students who choose between 5001 and 8,000 yuan in 2020 will rise from 33.2% to 40.7%, the proportion who choose between 8001 and 10,000 yuan will rise from 5.7% to 17.9%, and the proportion who choose more than 10,000 yuan will rise from 6.1 % Rose to 16.0%.

Overall, the proportion of college students expecting a monthly income of more than RMB 8,000 from their first job has risen from 11.8% in 2015 to 33.9% in 2020, which shows that college students have generally increased their income expectations when choosing a career. Low-income jobs are inconspicuous, and high-income jobs are difficult to find employment. To a certain extent, this also leads to the problem of difficult employment for college students.

Employment preference: yearning to embrace Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen within the system

(1) Employment attraction within the system is increasing

In the past two years, media news reports about the flocking of prestigious college students to basic-level civil servants have always aroused heated discussions. People do not understand why the employment positions within the system are becoming more and more attractive to college students. So, are more and more college students yearning for the system? We first compare the survey data in 2015 and 2020 to analyze the changing trends of college students’ intentions for employment.

The 2020 survey data shows thatIn terms of ideal employment destinations, the proportion of college students who prefer employment within the system (civil servants, public institutions, state-owned enterprises) is 42.9%. Among them, the proportion of “civil servants” is 12.4%, the proportion of “institutions” is 13.8%, and the proportion of “state-owned enterprises” is 16.7%.

In terms of employment options outside the system, 14.4% are inclined to “foreign-owned enterprises”, 10.4% are inclined to “self-employment”, and 9.0% are inclined to “Internet +” emerging occupations. The proportion of “private enterprises” is relatively low, accounting for only 4.1%, and the proportion of “inheriting family business” is 2.0%. In addition, 16.0% of college students said they “didn’t think about it well”. Generally speaking, the employment destinations of college students are characterized by diversification. The proportion of choosing various employment destinations is relatively balanced, and the proportion of preferring employment within the system is more than 40%, the proportion is indeed higher.

Compared with 2015, the ideal employment destination of college students in the 2020 survey shows the following three characteristics:

First, the proportion of choosing employment within the system has risen considerably, from 33.6% in 2015 to 42.9% in 2020. Especially the proportion of choosing “civil servants” has risen from 5.3% to 12.4%, indicating that the system has The attractiveness of employment to college students is indeed rising;

Second, the proportion of people who tend to enter “foreign-funded enterprises” has dropped sharply, from 36.0% in 2015 to 14.4% in 2020;

Third, the proportion of college students who choose to “start their own business” has also dropped significantly, from 22.5% in 2015 to 10.4% in 2020.

In addition, it is worth noting that 9.0% of the college students surveyed in 2020 tend to “Internet +” emerging careers(Anchor/Internet celebrity /New media operations, etc.), indicating that this new type of employment is also attractive to college students.

Why are more and more college students yearning for the system and gradually “abandoning” foreign companies? Since the early 1990s, with the development of economic globalization, a large number of large multinational companies have settled in China, setting off a boom in job hunting by foreign companies. Many college students have abandoned their “iron rice bowls” to seek jobs in foreign companies. The “post-90s” generation is a generation that has grown up with the development of economic globalization. The continued upsurge of “foreign enterprise fever” has a direct impact on them. It is the dream of many “post-90s” college students to become “white-collar workers” in foreign companies.

However, in recent years, with the rise of local companies, especially the rapid development of Internet companies, the salary levels of some local companies even exceed those of foreign companies, and the attractiveness of foreign companies to college students has been greatly affected.

At the same time, this is also related to changes in the job market environment. When college students are relatively scarce, there are plenty of jobs outside the system, making it easier to find ideal jobs; in addition, compared with the system, the workplace outside the system has more room for development, individuals are more free, and the income is higher. Said that it can achieve the ideal of life.

However, with the increase in the number of college graduates, the difficulty of obtaining employment outside the system has increased, making it more and more difficult to find ideal jobs; at the same time, the competition in the workplace is becoming increasingly fierce, and the future is uncertain and uncontrollable. Sex is getting bigger and bigger, people in the workplace have become “workers”, and it is increasingly difficult to realize personal ideals and values. Therefore, more and more college students are unwilling to enter enterprises outside the system, and are more inclined to find a job within the system that guarantees income from droughts and floods.

In order to more directly examine the question of “why more and more college students yearn for inside the system”, in the survey data for 2020, we analyzed that the ideal employment destinations are those under the system and those outside the system. The difference in the most important factor when evaluating the quality of work. The results show that compared with college students who prefer to work outside the system, the proportion of college students who prefer to work within the system who chooses “stability” as the most important criterion when evaluating the quality of work is significantly higher, and the proportion of choosing “personal interest” is significant Lower.

Among them, 12.8% of college students who prefer to work within the system choose “stable” as the primary criterion for evaluating the quality of their work, and the proportion of college students who prefer to work outside the system is only 4.1%. It can be seen that an important reason why more and more college students yearn for employment within the system is that they want to find a more stable job when choosing a job. This canIt can be related to the risks faced by the overall social environment and economic environment. Such risks are more prominent during the new crown pneumonia epidemic. During the epidemic, many companies have suspended work and production, and employee wages have been more or less affected. Only the benefits of work within the system are not affected. This may also have a certain impact on college students’ outlook on career choices.

(2) 211 college students favor foreign companies, general undergraduates prefer civil servants, junior college students love entrepreneurship

Comparing the differences in ideal employment destinations among college students at different school levels, we can find that college students in 211 colleges tend to go to “foreign-funded enterprises” the highest proportion(17.7 %), followed by “state-owned enterprises” (16.2%), and then “institutions” (14.0%); The proportion of “civil servants” is 10.0%, which is lower than the proportion in general undergraduates, but higher than the proportion in colleges.

The proportion of non-211 undergraduate college students who tend to take the civil service examination is the highest (18.0%), followed by “state-owned enterprises” (17.1%). The third is “institutions” and “foreign-funded enterprises” (14.2%). In general, non-211 undergraduate college students tend to have the highest proportion of employment within the system, but the proportion of “foreign-funded enterprises” is higher than that of junior college students.

The proportion of college students who tend to “start their own business” is the highest (19.8%), followed by “state-owned enterprises”(17.0%), again as “‘Internet +’emerging profession(host/net celebrity/ New media operations, etc.)(13.9%). The proportion of college students choosing “Internet+” emerging professions is higher than that of undergraduate school students, and the proportion of choosing civil servants is the lowest, accounting for only 7.1%.

It can be seen that college students from 211 colleges and universities are more inclined to traditional market-based employment, while undergraduate college students generally tend to be employed within the system, while college students from junior colleges have the highest entrepreneurial enthusiasm and are more accepting of emerging careers . The reason is that, objectively speaking, undergraduates from 211 colleges and universities have the strongest competitiveness in the job market, and they can get more opportunities and better jobs in the market-oriented employment sector; general undergraduate students are in the job market. Compared with general jobs outside the system, they choose jobs within the system more decently; College students have the lowest competitiveness in the job market and have fewer opportunities to obtain high-quality jobs, so they are more Willing to “find a new path”, choose to start a business most, and has the highest acceptance of emerging Internet careers.

(3) Employment in big cities continues to be favored

“Escape from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen” once became a hot topic of young people’s employment choices. So for college students, is “escaping from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen” their active choice? According to the survey data in 2020, in terms of employment location preference, the proportion of choosing big cities is as high as 84.6%. Among them, 63.3% choose “Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen” and “other large cities(except Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen)” the proportion is 21.3%. Only 6.9% chose “small and medium-sized cities”, 1.3% chose “overseas employment”, and chose “small towns”, “rural areas” and “special employment locations”(such as supporting old, young, borderline and poor areas and military-industrial systems)” is very low.

Visible, in the place of employmentIn terms of choice, megacities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and other large cities are the two main choices for college students. This shows that for college students, “escape from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen” is not their original intention. More than 60% of college students expect to establish themselves and develop in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen after graduation.

Since the overall sample includes college students whose family is located in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, after excluding this part of the sample, for college students whose family is located outside of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, do they want to “escape from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen” or “take roots in the north” What about “Guangshen”? The data results show that the proportion of this part of college students who choose “Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen” still accounts for 50.0%, choosing “other large cities (except Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen )” The proportion is 31.1%, and the proportion of “small and medium cities” is only 9.0%. It can be seen that for college students whose family is located outside Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, big cities are still their mainstream choice.

Compared with 2015, the preference of college students in employment location in 2020 shows the following characteristics:

First, working in large cities is still the mainstream choice of college students, and this preference is increasing. The proportion of megacities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen has risen from 60.5% to 63.3%, and those who choose other than Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen The proportion of large cities has also risen from 14.8% to 21.3%;

Second, the proportion of people who tend to work in “small and medium-sized cities” declined slightly, from 8.9% in 2015 to 6.9% in 2020;

Third, the proportion of people who choose “overseas employment” has dropped significantly, from 6.3% in 2015 to 1.3% in 2020.

In other words, only a few college students will consider going overseas for employment in 2020. This should be related to the continued spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic overseas, and more young people have had more influence on China’s domestic economic and social environment. Great confidence.

(2) 211 college students value the spiritual value of work most, and college students most value whether work can solve survival problems

Comparing the understanding of the meaning of work by college students at different levels, we can find that college students in 211 colleges value work most as a “tool to realize personal freedom”(27.7%), followed by “Achieving personal ideals at work” (24.0%); generally Undergraduate college students most value work as a “tool to realize personal freedom”(25.2%), followed by “fulfilment of family and social responsibilities”(24.1%); college students in technical colleges value work most as “a necessary stage of life” (24.9%), followed by “realizing personal ideals at work” (24.1%).

It can be seen that college students in 211 colleges value the spiritual value of work most; in addition to the spiritual value of work, ordinary undergraduates also focus on fulfilling family and social responsibilities; college students in junior colleges first regard work as a means of survival , Followed by the pursuit of the spiritual value of work.

Employment expectations in the post-epidemic era: employment confidence is sluggish, employment flexibility is enlarged

In order to more comprehensively map the employment cognition of college students in the post-epidemic era, and to more accurately grasp the employment attitude of college students, in the 2020 survey, we also designed the employment situation of college students under the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic Perception and employment attitude related indicators. Generally speaking, the employment cognition of college students in the post-epidemic era shows the following two characteristics: “low self-efficacy” and “materialistic orientation”.

(1) Low self-efficacy: the future employment situation is not optimistic

The employment cognition of college students presents the key feature of “low self-efficacy”. This kind of unconfidence and uncertainty in self-ability in employment expectations is manifested in the following three aspects:

First, the negative perception of the employment situation. 72.2% of college students agree that “the employment situation in the next two years will be very severe.”Only 6.3% of college students are still optimistic about the employment situation, which shows that college students will adjust their employment situation according to changes in the economic environment. According to the judgment and expectation, the “difficulty in employment” in the post-epidemic era has become a common perception and common dilemma among college students.

Secondly, lack of confidence and compromise in job hunting. Regarding the statement “I believe I can find a job that satisfies myself when I graduate”, more than half of (52.5%) college students are neutral Attitudes, 17.6% disagree, and only 29.9% agree, which reflects the lack of confidence and lack of faith among college students in the process of choosing a career.

As for the statement “Due to the new crown epidemic, I will lower my job search expectations”, 21.7% of college students “agree”, 38.4% are neutral, and 39.9% disagree. It can be seen that only about 40% of college students insist on their job-hunting expectations. This reflects the “difficulty in finding employment” under the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, which has a certain negative impact on college students’ career efficiency. College students show uncertainty and unconfidence in their self-development, and collective “anxiety” emotions appear, which lowers their employment expectations.

Finally, a confused attitude towards career planning. Only 29.9% of college students agree with the statement that “I have a clear plan for my career”, and all other college students expressed “fair” or “disagree.” It can be seen that under low self-efficacy, college students have a general “confused” dilemma in career planning and choice.

In short, the severe employment situation in the post-epidemic era has become a common dilemma for college students. In terms of employment expectations, college students have shown a tendency to low self-efficacy, which is manifested in low employment confidence and uncertainty about personal development. “Anxiety” and “Confusion” have become the common aspirations of college students in the post-epidemic era.

(2) Materialist orientation: the most rigid salary package

Another key feature of the employment mentality of college students in the post-epidemic era is the orientation of “materialism”.

This survey examined whether college students can accept compromises in the five aspects of industry, position, work location, salary, and the nature of the company in the process of job hunting. The results show that the proportion of college students accepting compromise is in the industry (59.1%), position (70.2%), work location(60.7%), business nature(67.1%) are quite high in four aspects; but it’s worth noting that in terms of remuneration, choose “no compromise”(50.4 %) The proportion of college students is slightly higher than the proportion of “compromise” (49.6%).

This reflects two characteristics of college students’ employment attitudes: First, under the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, college students have shown a negative perception of the employment situation as a whole, so they have shown low job search expectations and willingness in many aspects. The attitude of compromise shows a change of mentality from “finding a good job” to “finding a job”; secondly, college students’ persistence and uncompromising on remuneration reflects the combination of materialistic and post-materialistic values ​​among college students. contradiction.

The college students involved in the 2020 survey are mainly young people who were born around 2000. They grew up in a “greenhouse” with relatively affluent material conditions and comprehensive living security. To a certain extent, they show a pursuit of freedom. , The emphasis on personal interests and development, and the expression of enthusiasm for participation in politics and other post-materialist values; but in terms of employment cognition, the mainstream orientation of college students is still materialist values, which is concentrated in the pursuit of material goals .

In addition, college students’ insistence on remuneration is inevitably affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic. Under the sudden major public crisis, the prolonged “city closure” and the suspension of economic life have made young people feel the new “material scarcity” to a certain extent. The development difficulties of all walks of life, the difficult survival of employees, and the severe trend of the employment environment, theseAll make the materialistic values ​​that value survival security pick up among the college students, and therefore show the importance of salary and other material conditions in the employment process.

(This article is the stage of the National Social Science Fund’s major project “Big Data Driven Network Social Psychology Development Law and Guiding Strategy Research” (Project No. 19ZDA148) Achievements. The 2020 survey was conducted from September to October 2020. The subjects of the survey were college students in Shanghai. The samples covered 985 colleges and universities, 211 colleges, general undergraduates, and junior colleges. The effective samples were 4720; 2015 The number of effective samples in Shanghai in 2015 was 988. According to the distribution of the survey samples in 2020, the survey data in 2015 were weighted to compare the changes in college students’ attitudes and attitudes towards employment)

This article is from WeChat official account:Cultural aspect (ID: whzh_21bcr)< span class = "text-remarks">, author: Li Xiumei, the olive leaf, Gui Yong