Working Conditions in the UK - Case Study Example

Working Conditions in the UK Introduction Youth unemployment is one of the biggest challenges of the global economy. Statistics have shown that millions of people across the globe are unemployed and as per the prediction of the analysts the figures could further increase in the near future. Youth unemployment, also known as graduate unemployment is the level of unemployment among the young people falling in the age bracket of 18-25 (Martin, 2014). However, this age bracket differs from one country to the other. An unemployed youth can be characterised as an individual who is yet to find a job or is presently searching for it. However, to qualify an unemployed person one need to have the willingness and ability to work, officially designated to be in the category of ‘working age’, actively seeking a job. Unemployment for the youth is one of those contentious political issues which are also acting as a burden for the people leading their life through it. According to international Labour Organization, around 73 million young people are still unemployed which is having a significant impact on the global economy and is literally turning into a global concern (Martin, 2014). (Source: Pettinger, 2012) The graph above clearly shows that the level of youth unemployment is increasing at a steady pace. The reasons for the increasing unemployment rate vary across the national context. As a result of that it is difficult to track one single cause for which the rate of youth unemployment is continuously fluctuating. In this paper, the focus will be on the youth employment level of UK and the same will be analyzed from the point of view of the government and through moral frameworks. Youth Unemployment in UK In UK, the age bracket for qualifying as an unemployed youth it is 18-25 years. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that presently the total numbers of unemployed youth in UK is around 950,000 people and it accounts to almost 23% of the total qualified youth people (Mount, 2013). One of the biggest distressing facts is that the number is too high when compared with the other nations of European Union such as Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Belgium. The high levels of youth unemployment in UK have led some of the media commentators and politicians to talk about “the lost generation” (Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Work and Pensions Committee, 2012). Some of the key consequences of youth unemployment is it lowers the potential wages. Apart from that it also increases the probability of a worker experiencing unemployment during the adulthood period. Some of the industry experts have linked the causes of increasing unemployment rate among the youth to the London Riots that took place in the year 2011 (Pettinger, 2012). During the phase of recession, the youth uienployment rate increased at a robust rate and some of the possible causes attributed to this are lack of qualification, real wage unemployment, cyclical unemployment, geographical unemployment, frictional unemployment and various social and cultural factors. However, there is a debate over the causes of youth unemployment in the UK. Some expert believes that some of other major causes for high unemployment rate in UK are financial crisis of 2007-2010, public sector cuts and lack of experience. The Moral Framework As a result of this high unemployment rate, the country as well as the mental health of the unemployed youth is getting adversely affected. UK has to spend around £10 million a day, which is a lost productivity for the company (Hammer, 2013). This makes a total of £4.7 billion investment in a year. Apart from that it is also raising the level of underemployment and statists show that around 10% men and 13% women are underpaid in UK (Hammer, 2013). It is also compelling the young people of UK to emigrate so as to find a job. Nevertheless, the biggest impact of rising youth unemployment emerges in the form of poor mental health and depression. This is creating an alarming situation in the country as due to increasing level of depression among the candidates, the suicidal tendency is also on a high. 48% unemployed youth suffers from panic attacks, depression and insomnia (Hammer, 2013). Furthermore, studies have suggested that remaining out of work can lead a person towards isolation, increase anxiety levels and can result in the loss of social identity. Hence, the issue is really sensitive and government needs to take care of it. The unethical side of unemployment is that it hinders the youth to lead a luxurious life and also hinders them from expressing their best qualities and attributes to the society. The growth also becomes limited as people fails to explore the areas of their expertise due to the lack of financial assistance. Gupta (2002) emphasizes on the fact that from the point of view of ethics: “it always requires for its application the acceptance for some prior account of certain features of social and moral life in terms of which it has to be defined and explained” (p.180) whereas from the viewpoint of Virtue, Boyd (2007) states “it is an acquired human quality which enable us to achieve the goods and the lack of which prevents us from achieving any such goods” (p.126). The ten entitlements provided by Nissbaum are also not enjoyed by the unemployed youth. 1. Life: living a reduced life without any job that creates an image of life that is not worth of living. 2. Senses, imagination and thoughts: young people that are enable to use the senses to imagine, think, and reason in their work; absence of adequate specialisation from work experience and absence of pleasurable experiences at the workplace. 3. Health: the commitment of the youth in any kind of employment has the ability to decrease pressure from the mental health. 4. Affiliation: not living with and towards others; not having self respect as they are unemployed and scarcity of the psychological supports which is accompanies with employment. 5. Material: having right to have employment, but not actually having a chance to get the job (McMahon, Forde, and Martin, 2010). Hence, from the ethical point of view, these people are actually loosing the opportunity to enjoy the basic necessities of life. It is the right of a person to lead their life in their own way, but that is only possible when the person is having enough financial support and does not have any responsibility/ has the ability to fulfil basic responsibilities. Furthermore, from the ethical point of view, youngsters do not get the opportunity express the likings and carry out the activities which they values. Therefore, from an overall viewpoint and considering the ethical aspect involved in it, youth unemployment is a serious cause of apprehension for the society as well as the government. There are several cases where mass protest against the respective government took place due to the government’s failure of creating employment opportunities. The role of government should be critical in getting rid of this issue or trying to control it to the greatest possible extent. The Solution In this section, some of the strategies as well suggestions by which the company can rid of the issues. The solution to this alarming issue is only in the hands of the UK government. It is literally impossible for the society to singlehandedly to rectify it but obviously the society can contribute. Assistance from the private sector is also necessary from getting rid of this issue. One of the most effective ways of expunging the challenge of youth unemployment is to review the terms of youth Contract. For example, the government should provided assistance to the inexperienced people. Apart from that special trainings can be organized for better qualification, which will ultimately lead to increased job opportunities. It has been also observed that giving instructions to find job from school is a great way to minimize youth unemployment. The government is also strongly recommended to provide assurance of quality vocational education and offer real life work experiences which will prevent the youth from become lethargic and inactive. The government is also suggested to ease the legal regulations of opening new businesses or entrepreneurial ventures which will ultimately help in reducing unemployment rate (Symes, 2006). Finally, from the economical point of view, it is recommended that the government should support the policy that education with the labour market. Conclusion Youth unemployment is literally turning into a big challenge for the global economy. The respective government of various countries are actively seeking ways to reduce the youth unemployment rate. The study has shown that from the ethical point of view, the unemployed youth is failing to get access to certain necessities of life as a result of poor financial situation. Hence, government should take steps such as modification of education and labour market policies, fostering entrepreneurship etc., which will eventually help in reducing the total percentage of youth unemployment in the country. Reference List Boyd, C. A., 2007. A Shared Morality: A Narrative Defense of Natural Law Ethics. Michigan: Baker Books. Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Work and Pensions Committee, 2012. Youth Unemployment and the Youth Contract: Second Report of Session 2012-13. London: The Stationery Office. Gupta, B., 2002. Ethical Questions: East and West. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Hammer, T., 2013. Youth Unemployment and Social Exclusion in Europe: A Comparative Study. London: Policy publishers. Martin, M., 2014. Global Youth Unemployment: Ticking Time Bomb? [online] Available at: [Accessed 22 March 2014]. McMahon, M., Forde, C. and Martin, M., 2010. Contemporary Issues in Learning and Teaching. London: SAGE. Mount, J., 2013. UK youth face bleak job prospects in 2013. [online] Available at: [Accessed 22 March 2014]. Pettinger, T., 2012. Reasons for Youth Unemployment. [online] Available at: [Accessed 22 March 2014]. Symes, V., 2006. Unemployment in Europe: Problems and Policies. London: Routledge. 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