This article explores changes in the “relationship to work” (Paugam, 2000; Longo, 2011; Longo & Bourdon,
2016) among young entrants in the field of youth work across the stages of “professional socialization”
(Hughes, 1996; Author 1, 2020) associated with the first years of practice. It explores the experiences of
17 young youth workers, based on comprehensive interviews conducted during ethnographic fieldwork
carried out in nine youth services organizations based in the Toulouse region of France. A combination
of thematic analysis and temporal bracketing supports cross-case analysis of the collected professional
trajectory narratives, revealing a four-part typology of how young workers develop their relationship to
work. The article identifies the three main factors at play as employment and working conditions, access
to occupational training, and relationships with managers in the workplace.
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