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Not a Real Job? Teenage Labor and Low-Wage Service Work in Sweden

Kallos, Anna LU orcid (2025)
Abstract
Teenage students constitute an important source of flexible, low-cost labor in interactive service sectors. However, existing empirical research has primarily treated their labor as transitional, focusing on its impact on future employment or labor market outcomes. There remains a lack of knowledge about how these young workers experience and make sense of their early employment, particularly within the Nordic context.

This thesis examines teenage students as a labor force in Sweden, at the intersection of low-wage, interactive service work reliant on young, flexible labor, and the different meanings these workers themselves attribute to their jobs. Using a mixed methods approach, the study analyzes data from the Swedish Labor... (More)
Teenage students constitute an important source of flexible, low-cost labor in interactive service sectors. However, existing empirical research has primarily treated their labor as transitional, focusing on its impact on future employment or labor market outcomes. There remains a lack of knowledge about how these young workers experience and make sense of their early employment, particularly within the Nordic context.

This thesis examines teenage students as a labor force in Sweden, at the intersection of low-wage, interactive service work reliant on young, flexible labor, and the different meanings these workers themselves attribute to their jobs. Using a mixed methods approach, the study analyzes data from the Swedish Labor Force Survey (2005-2019) and qualitative interviews with teenage students in paid work (N = 40). Adopting a theoretical perspective grounded in Marxian thought and intersectional feminism, the study investigates questions of exploitation, social differentiation, and subjectivity, focusing on how these issues are shaped by structural and cultural dynamics within the labor market.

The thesis consists of three sole-authored, peer-reviewed articles and an integrative part. Article I analyzes survey data to examine trends in the labor force participation of teenage students in Sweden and their worker profiles. It reveals their growing presence in sectors such as hospitality and retail, and demonstrates the heterogeneous nature of this workforce. Article II shows how the labor-intensive, low-unionized service sector creates specific conditions for exploitation. Drawing on interview data, it examines how teenage workers understand and legitimize unpaid labor, identifying three meaning-making rationales that normalize exploitative practices as part of their working lives. Finally, Article III probes deeper into how teenagers construct the meaning of their part-time jobs, focusing on shared narratives that articulate their motivations for working. It examines how these narratives both reflect and obscure social inequalities, showing how classed, racialized, and neighborhood-based differences shape young people’s self-understandings as workers.

In synthesizing its findings, the thesis makes several contributions. First, it situates teenage labor within the broader context of Sweden’s low-wage, non-standard service industries. Drawing on multiple data sources, the study offers rich empirical insights into both the development of teenagers’ labor force participation and the challenges they face in their working conditions and daily lives. Second, it highlights the heterogeneous composition of this group and the diverse reasons adolescents take on part-time jobs during school, advancing a nuanced understanding of the unevenly distributed opportunities and risks linked to early employment. Finally, the thesis underscores the importance of cultural and discursive meanings of work. Teenagers often frame their first jobs as steps toward cultivating a self valued in the labor market. For the youngest workers, this ethical attachment to work is expressed in future-oriented, abstract terms that are often disconnected from the realities of service work. These narratives, the thesis argues, enable young people to downplay financial dependence and legitimize exploitative conditions. In conclusion, the study positions teenage labor as a meaningful site for both the production of youth subjectivities and the reproduction of social inequalities. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Tonåringar utgör en viktig källa till flexibel och lågavlönad arbetskraft inom servicesektorn. Trots detta saknas forskning som belyser och problematiserar deras sysselsättningsmönster, anställningsvillkor och arbetserfarenheter – särskilt i en nordisk kontext. Denna avhandling analyserar gymnasieelever som arbetskraft i Sverige, i skärningspunkten mellan kundnära servicebranscher som är beroende av unga och flexibla arbetare, och de betydelser som ungdomarna själva tillskriver sina jobb. Studien utgår från en metodologisk ansats som kombinerar enkätdata från Arbetskraftsundersökningarna (2005–2019) med djupintervjuer med tonåringar som arbetar vid sidan av skolan (N = 40), med ett teoretiskt fokus på exploatering, social differentiering... (More)
Tonåringar utgör en viktig källa till flexibel och lågavlönad arbetskraft inom servicesektorn. Trots detta saknas forskning som belyser och problematiserar deras sysselsättningsmönster, anställningsvillkor och arbetserfarenheter – särskilt i en nordisk kontext. Denna avhandling analyserar gymnasieelever som arbetskraft i Sverige, i skärningspunkten mellan kundnära servicebranscher som är beroende av unga och flexibla arbetare, och de betydelser som ungdomarna själva tillskriver sina jobb. Studien utgår från en metodologisk ansats som kombinerar enkätdata från Arbetskraftsundersökningarna (2005–2019) med djupintervjuer med tonåringar som arbetar vid sidan av skolan (N = 40), med ett teoretiskt fokus på exploatering, social differentiering och subjektivitet.

Avhandlingen består av tre vetenskapliga artiklar samt en kappa. Artikel I analyserar enkätdata för att kartlägga trender och mönster i gymnasieelevers sysselsättning i Sverige. Studien visar på en växande närvaro i sektorer som hotell- och restaurang samt handel, och på hur arbetsmönstren skiljer sig mellan olika grupper av tonåringar. Artikel II bygger på intervjuer och undersöker hur tonåringar erfar arbetsvillkoren inom servicebranschen, med fokus på hur de förstår och legitimerar obetalt arbete. Artikel III analyserar hur de tillskriver mening åt sina jobb genom de gemensamma narrativ som används för att beskriva motiv till att arbeta. Artikeln visar hur dessa narrativ både speglar och osynliggör de sociala ojämlikheter som formar ungas olika beroendeställningar till sina jobb.

Genom att syntetisera resultaten från de tre artiklarna ger avhandlingen flera bidrag. För det första tecknas en bred bild av hur tonåringar har kommit att utgöra en del av den permanenta arbetsstyrkan inom lågavlönade serviceyrken, genom att både utvecklingen av deras arbetsmarknadsdeltagande i dessa branscher och de utmaningar de möter i arbetslivet lyfts fram. För det andra tydliggör avhandlingen den sociala heterogenitet som präglar denna grupp av arbetare, liksom de skiftande motiven till att tonåringar tar deltidsjobb under skolåren. Detta ger en nyanserad förståelse av de ojämlikt fördelade möjligheter och risker som följer med ett tidigt inträde på arbetsmarknaden. Slutligen framhäver avhandlingen arbetets kulturella och subjektiva dimensioner. Tonåringar beskriver ofta sina första jobb som ett led i en framtidsinriktad strävan att stärka sitt värde på arbetsmarknaden. Denna förståelse av arbetets betydelse gör det möjligt för de unga att tona ned sin ekonomiska beroendeställning och legitimera exploaterande arbetsvillkor. Sammanfattningsvis positioneras gymnasieelevers arbete som en central arena för både formandet av deras självförståelse och reproduktionen av social ojämlikhet.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Leschke, Janine, Copenhagen Business School
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
labor, low-wage jobs, non-standard work, subjectivity, Sweden, teenage workers, youth
pages
101 pages
publisher
Lund University
defense location
G:a köket, Sh 128, Allhelgona kyrkogata 8, Lund
defense date
2025-09-19 13:15:00
ISSN
1102-4712
ISBN
978-91-8104-599-4
978-91-8104-598-7
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
989b8643-4f5f-4709-868f-187868fc571a
date added to LUP
2025-08-23 11:17:46
date last changed
2025-08-25 11:23:26
@phdthesis{989b8643-4f5f-4709-868f-187868fc571a,
  abstract     = {{Teenage students constitute an important source of flexible, low-cost labor in interactive service sectors. However, existing empirical research has primarily treated their labor as transitional, focusing on its impact on future employment or labor market outcomes. There remains a lack of knowledge about how these young workers experience and make sense of their early employment, particularly within the Nordic context.<br/><br/>This thesis examines teenage students as a labor force in Sweden, at the intersection of low-wage, interactive service work reliant on young, flexible labor, and the different meanings these workers themselves attribute to their jobs. Using a mixed methods approach, the study analyzes data from the Swedish Labor Force Survey (2005-2019) and qualitative interviews with teenage students in paid work (N = 40). Adopting a theoretical perspective grounded in Marxian thought and intersectional feminism, the study investigates questions of exploitation, social differentiation, and subjectivity, focusing on how these issues are shaped by structural and cultural dynamics within the labor market.<br/><br/>The thesis consists of three sole-authored, peer-reviewed articles and an integrative part. Article I analyzes survey data to examine trends in the labor force participation of teenage students in Sweden and their worker profiles. It reveals their growing presence in sectors such as hospitality and retail, and demonstrates the heterogeneous nature of this workforce. Article II shows how the labor-intensive, low-unionized service sector creates specific conditions for exploitation. Drawing on interview data, it examines how teenage workers understand and legitimize unpaid labor, identifying three meaning-making rationales that normalize exploitative practices as part of their working lives. Finally, Article III probes deeper into how teenagers construct the meaning of their part-time jobs, focusing on shared narratives that articulate their motivations for working. It examines how these narratives both reflect and obscure social inequalities, showing how classed, racialized, and neighborhood-based differences shape young people’s self-understandings as workers.<br/><br/>In synthesizing its findings, the thesis makes several contributions. First, it situates teenage labor within the broader context of Sweden’s low-wage, non-standard service industries. Drawing on multiple data sources, the study offers rich empirical insights into both the development of teenagers’ labor force participation and the challenges they face in their working conditions and daily lives. Second, it highlights the heterogeneous composition of this group and the diverse reasons adolescents take on part-time jobs during school, advancing a nuanced understanding of the unevenly distributed opportunities and risks linked to early employment. Finally, the thesis underscores the importance of cultural and discursive meanings of work. Teenagers often frame their first jobs as steps toward cultivating a self valued in the labor market. For the youngest workers, this ethical attachment to work is expressed in future-oriented, abstract terms that are often disconnected from the realities of service work. These narratives, the thesis argues, enable young people to downplay financial dependence and legitimize exploitative conditions. In conclusion, the study positions teenage labor as a meaningful site for both the production of youth subjectivities and the reproduction of social inequalities.}},
  author       = {{Kallos, Anna}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-8104-599-4}},
  issn         = {{1102-4712}},
  keywords     = {{labor; low-wage jobs; non-standard work; subjectivity; Sweden; teenage workers; youth}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Lund University}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{Not a Real Job? Teenage Labor and Low-Wage Service Work in Sweden}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/226053295/e-spik_ex_kallos.pdf}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}