A study released by KFC and UK Youth in 2024 revealed that 93% of young people
in the UK have experienced negative treatment at work because of their age, up
from 88% in 2021.
The study states that the top issues faced by young people in the workplace include being undervalued, which 81% of participants agreed on. The second biggest issue
was being patronised by colleagues and managers (78%), and the third was being
outright rejected from a job based on age (75%). Bearing all this in mind, let’s see
what Gen-Z has to say about it.
“This is my moment because it’s never talked about,” Abigail said.
Born and raised in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Abigail recalls that when she was 17,
trying to find a job was extremely difficult because of her piercings and dyed hair.
Most of her friends have found it easy to get a job, which, Abigail says, shows
prejudice towards those who have an alternative aesthetic.
“This will make employers take a job opportunity away from me when they notice this
which makes me insecure and worried that I cannot express myself in 2025,” said
Abigail Wilkinson.
She’s seen mistreatment amongst others her age, especially girls, often from older
colleagues who, “feel obliged to mistreat” and “disregard” their feelings.
“I’ve seen sexual harassment from fellow male employees and nothing been done
about it from higher ups, as well as abuse from the boss, such as screaming when
we were in pain from forcefully having to hold burning hot plates to deliver food,
grabbing hair of female employees and making us work hours beyond time unpaid,”
says Abigail Wilkinson.
“This was my experience working in hospitality! The main issue is ageism in the workplace, when adults don’t show empathy or assist younger people in taking the first steps towards financial success.”
She also highlights that most colleges and high schools don’t prepare students
enough to enter the workforce.
“We have something called a pastoral lesson once a week, which teaches us British
values and other pretty useless stuff when we could be learning about job
opportunities, how to get a job and write CVs to actually help us as we grow up,” she
explains.
Additionally, most jobs in Newcastle require full-time work, which makes it difficult for
students to find part-time jobs that work around their school schedule and most
require work experience, which most young people don’t have when applying for
their first job.
Meanwhile, further east in Germany, Germany’s Federal Anti-Discrimination
Agency reported a record of 11,405 complaints of discrimination – the highest since its founding. Over 3,000 cases were involved in workplace discrimination. Here’s
what 17 year old Florian has to say about it.
Florian lives in a very prosperous area in Baden-Baden, South Germany, where he’s
surrounded by many companies, such as Mercedes, Bosch and Daimler. There’s a lot of opportunities, but only for those who are over 18. This made it more challenging for Florian to get his first job at a furniture store.
“It was very hard for me, especially due to the fact that I am underage: In my country,
Germany, there are very strict laws concerning underage labor, which is a reason
why many companies are not very keen when it comes to hiring people below of the
age of 18. This had led to me having to write five or six applications and it took me a
very long time until I landed my job which I currently work in. So, it is doable, but for
people below 18, it will take a long time.”
The strict laws Florian refers to are part of the Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz (Youth
Employment Protection Act), which limits the number of hours people under 18 can
work.
For example, it generally prohibits working on Sundays and during night hours,
and restricts daily and weekly working time to protect young workers
At first, it was very hard for him to connect to the other co-workers, who were much
older than him.
“I often felt belittled or not seen as qualified enough for the job I have. However, a
problem that I currently face is that every worker here gets a kind of bonus of 1% of
the sales volume they create for the company monthly. So if they sold products,
which had a value of €50,000 – they’ll get €500 on top of their salary. I don’t, and I
think that it’s due to the fact that I am so young,” he explains.
It’s not only Florian facing difficulties at his job though. His friends also had harsh
experiences.
One of his friends who worked at a pizza place had to quit because she was treated
so miserably. She got screamed at every day, which led to very traumatic
experiences.
“Another friend of mine had problems with her payment: she got paid less hours than
she worked. After she confronted her, the chef said that “ the probationary period”
doesn’t count as working time because she had to be taught all the basics at the
beginning,” says Florian.
Florian believes employers should have more trust in young people.
“I think, we are a generation that is very smart and is capable of a lot of things. In
fact, we have a lot of advantages, for example when it comes to the digital world. I just wish that we would be treated as normal workers – and not as kids,” he says.
When asked about the stereotype that most young people are lazy and don’t want to
work he said, “I don’t think so. Many young people are willing to work, they just need way more freedom and more opportunities when it comes to finding jobs, and also,
should be treated fair and equally, it’s not our fault if we are unmotivated, when our
bosses are treating us miserably.”
Some advice he would’ve given his younger self and others is, “don’t let yourself be
belittled and not respected. If they want your workforce, they better treat you with
respect and gratitude. Also, you don’t have to always accept when they ask you to
come working at times you usually don’t have to work.”