Age features of the relationship between work and life parameters

Introduction. Professional activity is an essential part of a person’s life and often occupies a prominent position in their value system. This is supported by numerous domestic and international studies, which demonstrate the impact of professional activity on individual psychological well-being and overall life satisfaction. Everyone has unique ideas about what they want their job to be like and about their future, and these ideas guide their choice of profession and workplace, aiming to align with their life goals. However, there is a lack of research on how people at different stages of life relate work and life parameters.

Objective. To identify age-specific ideas about the relationship between work and life parameters.

Materials and Methods. To achieve this goal, the semantic differential method was used. Statistical processing of the research results was carried out using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient.

Results. The study involved 105 participants, divided into four groups based on age: first-year students, fourth-year students, young professionals with 2–5 years of work experience, and more experienced professionals with 5–10 years of work experience. Within each group, significant correlations were found between work-related parameters and life-related parameters. First-year students imagined that six work-related factors would be connected to eight life-related factors. Fourth-year students saw six work factors connected to seven life factors. The group of younger professionals showed the most significant connections, while the more experienced professionals saw fewer work factors linked to more life factors in their future.

Discussion. The first-year students have idealistic ideas about the future relationship between work and life, while fourth-year students have more clear and objective correlations, indicating that their ideas are more realistic. Young professionals’ ideas about this relationship often reflect a desire for hedonism and a certain level of confusion. Experienced employees, on the other hand, have clear, structured, and meaningful ideas about how work and life should be balanced.

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