Social adaptation of the younger and older generations of workers in modern Russia

Abstract

A comparative analysis of the social adaptation of the younger and older generations of workers in modern Russia is undertaken based on the combined RLMS-HSE data set (1994–2019) and the primary data of two studies at a specific industrial enterprise. Intergenerational differences in the effectiveness of social adaptation of two generations of Russian workers during 2006–19 is studied. The younger generation includes workers born in 1985 and later. Their socialization was carried out mainly already in post-Soviet Russia, and the entry into working age took place in the 2000s. The older generation is formed by workers born no later than 1984. To assess the effectiveness of social adaptation of two generations of workers, indicators of satisfaction with work, material situation and life in general is used. The ways of market adjustment, that served as additional sources of income, are considered. Particular attention is paid to the dynamics of the social adaptation of workers in 2014–19, that is, against the background of a decrease in real money incomes of the population. During these years, along with the dynamics of the most important indicators of the social well-being of workers at a particular industrial enterprise in Omsk (the regional center of the Russian Federation), the dynamics of three active ways of their social adaptation (agricultural labor on a land plot, secondary employment, educational activity) are revealed. It has been found that intergenerational differences in the effectiveness of social adaptation of Russian workers are insignificant, and since 2013 there have been no statistically significant differences in job satisfaction and satisfaction with the material situation. In 2015-16 and in 2019, there were also no intergenerational differences in life satisfaction in general. The work shows that the social and economic situation in the country has a predominant impact on the social adaptation of the younger and older generations of workers. Important factors that determine the success of social adaptation are the living conditions at the place of residence (in a settlement of a certain type) and the general situation at the main job.