Welcome to Francis Academic Press

Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, 2024, 7(6); doi: 10.25236/AJHSS.2024.070621.

Occupational Choices and Mobility of Young Flexible Workers—Empirical Evidence from Tianjin

Author(s)

Hongze Tan1, Shengchen Du2

Corresponding Author:
Shengchen Du
Affiliation(s)

1School of Sociology, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China

2School of Social Development, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, 300384, China

Abstract

In the era of rapid digital economy advancement, the burgeoning flexible youth workforce plays an increasingly pivotal role in China’s labour market. Nonetheless, the research focus on their career choices and mobility remains inadequate. By using Tianjin as a case study, this research undertakes an initial investigation through an online survey. The key discoveries are as follows: (1) Flexible employment is predominantly prevalent in the e-commerce and sharing economy domains. (2) The primary sources of flexible workers include former government and institutional employees, full-time homemakers, migrant workers, and retired military personnel, with the former group constituting the majority at over 60%. (3) The primary reasons for selecting jobs revolve around seeking higher earnings and pursuing personal interests. (4) Notably, this cohort exhibits a substantial job retention rate and limited mobility post-employment. These revelations offer a preliminary insight into this subject, underscoring the necessity for further longitudinal and subsequent studies.

Keywords

Flexible Employment, Youth Employment, Occupational Mobility, Tianjin, China

Cite This Paper

Hongze Tan, Shengchen Du. Occupational Choices and Mobility of Young Flexible Workers—Empirical Evidence from Tianjin. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2024) Vol. 7, Issue 6: 127-133. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2024.070621.

References

[1] Zhang C. Problems and strategies: research on public policy of supporting the development of new forms of employment in China[J]. Human Resources Development of China, 2019, 36(02):74-82.

[2] Smite D, Moe N B, Hildrum J, et al. Work-from-home is here to stay: call for flexibility in post-pandemic work policies[J]. Journal of Systems and Software, 2023, 195: 111552.

[3] People’s Daily Online. There are 200 million flexible workers in China, and online work is sought after by young people[EB/OL]. http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2022/0209/c1004-32348147.html,2022-02-09/2023-03-10.

[4] Liu G. Shared economy, the subversion of the traditional economic model[J]. Economist, 2017, (05): 97-104.

[5] Azeem M M, Kotey B. Innovation in SMEs: The role of flexible work arrangements and market competition [J]. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2023, 34(1): 92-127.

[6] Zhang X, Ma Y. Promote research on online entrepreneurship and employment promotion in China [J]. China Labour, 2013, (06): 4-10.

[7] Kuang Y, Liang X, Zhang F. Research on the improvement of the social security system for people with flexible employment in new business forms [J]. Study and Practice, 2021, (01): 93-104.

[8] Sorn M K, Fienena A R L, Ali Y, et al. The effectiveness of compensation in maintaining employee retention [J]. Open Access Library Journal, 2023, 10(7): 1-14.

[9] Carreño J G, Uras B. Macro welfare effects of flexible labour contracts[J]. European Economic Review, 2024, 161: 104633.

[10] Liu J. The Realizing of Flexible Platform: The Impacts of the Internet Era on Employment Relationship [J]. Human Resources Development of China, 2015, (14): 77-83.

[11] Yang W, Wang F. Employment policy of university graduates: experiences from some OECD countries and implications for China[J]. Chinese Journal of Population Science, 2004, (04): 67-73+82.

[12] An J. Research on employment promotion policy and promotion mechanism of college graduates: taking Hubei province as an example [D]. Wuhan University, 2011.

[13] Wu L, Zhang B. Experiences and inspirations of college graduates’ promotion policies in Japan and the USA [J]. Research in Educational Development, 2011, 31(09): 49-54.

[14] Hu P. Japan’s policies and measures to encourage childbearing and promote women’s employment [J]. Japanese Studies, 2004, (06): 126-140.

[15] Yang H. Discussion on the path of promoting women’s equal employment under the “two-child policy” [J]. Journal of Chinese Women’s Studies, 2016, (02): 17-20.