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The individualisation of risk: An analysis of intergenerational
perspectives on the labour market 1
Dr Line Nyhagen Predelli and Dr Noel D. Smith
CRSP, Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough University
L.N.Predelli@lboro.ac.uk
N.D.Smith@lboro.ac.uk

Abstract
This paper examines how people from different generations narrate their
personal biography in relation to decision-making and risk in the context of
labour market entry and participation. Our study responds to Ulrich Becks
Risk Society thesis that modern society has changed towards increasing
individualisation and pervasive perceptions of risk through an analysis of
interviews with individuals from different generations about their sense of
opportunities and constraints in relation to entering the labour market and
changing employment during the life-course. From an intergenerational
perspective we expected to find discontinuity between the more determined
trajectories, buttressed by traditional support networks, and the more
individualised biographies emphasising self-reliance and risk. Although we
find that many parents describe their entrance into the labour market as
having been facilitated by traditional support networks, and that children tend
to describe their experiences as individualised agents in relation to the labour
market, our analysis reveals that continuities between the responses of
parents and children are as pervasive as discontinuities. That is, the different
generations biographical narratives are suffused with complex notions of
opportunities, constraints, agency and risk. Our data also confirm the
importance of class, gender and age in the analysis of risk (Furlong and
Cartmel 1997; Lupton 1999; Mitchell et al. 2001; Wilkinson 2001; Mythen
2005).
Introduction
Grand theories of increasing levels of individualisation and risk in modern
society have been forwarded most notably by Beck (1992), and also by
Giddens (1991). Indeed, for Beck, an all-pervasive sense of risk has become
a ubiquitous feature of public and private life, and individuals are forced to
negotiate and plan their own actions and pathways in an environment where
known and lesser known risks pose potential threats to their sense of identity
and well-being. Beck defines individualisation as a process in which each
persons biography is [being] removed from given determinations and placed
1

The authors would like to thank Andreas Cebulla (NatCen) for valuable comments and
suggestions, and to acknowledge the contributions by Lynne Cox and Abigail Davies (both
CRSP) to the fieldwork upon which this paper is based.

in his or her own hands, open and dependent on decisions (Beck 1992: 135).
Each individual thus becomes responsible for his or her own future life
chances, choices and options, and the continuous creation and construction
of the self can be seen as an on-going DIY project (Kelly 2001: 26; Beck
2000: 75). The notion that the individual is solely responsible for his or her
own life chances and decision-making implies a heightened sense of risk, as
possible courses of action are numerous and include options that, if chosen,
may have a detrimental effect on the life chances and social mobility of the
individual. The reverse side of the coin is that individualised responsibility may
function in a liberating sense, giving the individual the opportunity to realise
personal aspirations, make decisions and take risks that positively affect his
or her life chances and social mobility. Importantly, Becks argument does not
imply full individual autonomy. Although the individual is removed from
traditional commitments and support relationships, these are exchanged for
constraints produced by the labour market and consumerism (Beck 1992:
131). The place of traditional ties and social forms (social class, nuclear
family) is taken by secondary agencies and institutions, which stamp the
biography of the individual and makes that person dependent upon fashions,
social policy, economic cycles and markets (ibid.). There is thus an
inherent contradiction in the individualisation process between an individuals
expectation to be able to plan and control his or her own life and his or her
experience in having choices and options conditioned and/or limited by
societal factors.
Grand theories of the risk society have been met with two main criticisms
summarised by Mythen (2004). Firstly, Becks portrayal of risk as something
people perceive and experience universally means that complex issues of
interpretation and meaning are swept under the carpet (Alexander and Smith
1996: 253, in Mythen 2004: 113). Secondly, critics have alleged that the Risk
Society thesis lacks empirical verification (Alexander 1996, Wilkinson 2001,
Tulloch and Lupton 2003, Mythen 2004 and 2005). In contrast to the notion of
a universal risk perception, empirical studies of risk demonstrate that risk is
mediated and differentiated along cultural and structural lines. Cultural
theorists argue that perceptions of risks are culturally constructed and
mediated, and subject to social learning (Douglas and Wildawsky 1982,
Oltedal et al. 2004). Social theorists highlight how social class, gender,
ethnicity and age all have a bearing on peoples perceptions of and responses
to risk making them, for example, more or less risk-averse (Lupton 1999,
Mitchell et al. 2001, Wilkinson 2001).
The purpose of our inter-generational study is to investigate continuity and
discontinuity in perceptions and responses to risk between parents and their
adult offspring. The study responds to Becks Risk Society thesis that we
have entered a new era of individualisation and pervasive perceptions of risk
through an analysis of interviews with individuals from different generations
about their sense of opportunities and constraints in relation to entering the
labour market and changing employment during the life-course. If Becks
thesis is true, we might expect to find discontinuity between the more
determined trajectories, buttressed by traditional support networks, that we
would expect among the parent generation, and the more individualised

biographies emphasising self-reliance and risk, that we would expect among

the off-spring generation. Exploring continuities and discontinuities between
parents and their offspring also allows us to consider the influence and
transfer of perceptions across family generations.
We do not attempt to predict or determine the extent of influence and transfer
of perceptions across family generations, but to examine and discuss the
possibility of such influence and transfer in the context of entry to and
participation in the labour market. We use biographical narratives of career
histories and career transitions as an anchor to explore changes in risk
perceptions and risk behaviour across generations. Our analysis is based on
readings of qualitative interview data obtained using a narrative
bibliographical method through which participants were facilitated to consider
their career history and select key moments of their career, rather than these
being defined by the researchers. A strength of the methodology is that it
exposed the interplay between participants employment history, personal
development, family change and other life events and transitions, so that a
holistic view of their life careers could be considered. Moreover, the
intergenerational approach allows us to analyse similarities and differences
across generations. Importantly, the data provide qualitative information about
possible mechanisms for intergenerational transmissions. Although our
analysis offers an in-depth understanding of generational differences and
similarities, we would caution an attempt to generalise our findings.
There is a wealth of research literature on intergenerational relationships and
intergenerational transmission (see Scabini and Marta 2006 for an overview),
but to date there seems to be very little research on the intergenerational
transmission of attitudes to risk. One notable exception is that of Dohmen et
al. (2006), who used a large scale, representative survey in Germany and
found that there is a strong correlation between parents willingness to take
risks and that of their children. Indeed, Dohmen et al. found that transmission
from parent to child is relatively specific and detailed (and thus not only
encompassing the transfer of more general attitudes towards risk). The areas
they investigated were car driving, financial matters, sports and leisure,
career, and health. In all of these contexts Dohmen and colleagues found a
strong intergenerational correlation. Furthermore, their analysis revealed that
the gender of the child did not affect the strength of transmission from parent
to child. Our qualitative research adds to the knowledge currently being
developed around intergenerational relationships and the transmission of
attitudes to risk.
Research Methodology
We have conducted a total of 58 in-depth interviews for our study of
intergenerational perceptions and experiences of risk in relation to labour
market entry and participation. The interviews are with 29 pairs of same sex
parents and their adult children (i.e., mothers and daughters, fathers and
sons). Gender differences in risk perceptions and experiences are well
documented (Gustafson 1998). Moreover, the distinct gender difference in the
nature and extent of change in career structures and opportunities over the
last fifty years (see MacEwen Scott 1994) can be expected to impact on

intergenerational perceptions of career-planning and risk. Our interviews have

therefore involved same-sex pairs rather than mixed pairs. We have
interviewed a total of 16 female pairs and 13 male pairs. In addition to an
emphasis on gender balance, the recruitment of interviewees also considered
their socio-economic backgrounds. We also thought it essential that one of
each pair must have either changed jobs or been made redundant or
experienced unemployment in the last two years or so, as such events are
likely to trigger decision-making processes.
The actual sample consisted of parent generation individuals aged 38-80, with
most aged in their sixties and seventies, and offspring generation individuals
aged 17-53, with most aged in their twenties, thirties and forties. Of the 29
individuals in the parent generation, five had a university degree and 2 had
attended college. A majority of them (22) had left school at the age of 14-16.
Of the 29 individuals in the offspring generation, seven had a university
degree while 2 had attended university without achieving a degree, and eight
had attended college. Less than half (12 individuals) had left school at the age
of 15-18. There is thus evidence of some upward social mobility in
educational terms from one generation to the next among the individuals in
our sample. In terms of class background (perceived as occupational status) 2 ,
a majority (18) of the parent generation were from the working classes, while
five were from the middle classes and six had worked themselves up from
working to middle class through their employment career. There was clear
evidence of upward social mobility from one generation to the next in terms of
occupational achievement. A majority (16) of the offspring generation were
from the middle classes, while ten were from working classes and three
worked themselves up from working to middle class through their employment
career. In sum, a majority of the parent generation were from the working
classes and had only completed compulsory education, while a majority of the
offspring generation were from the middle classes and roughly half of them
had received education beyond compulsory schooling. The interviews were
conducted in 2005, and most of the participants lived in the English Midlands.
With the exception of one pair, the interviewees were all ethnically white.
Pseudonyms have been invented to protect the identity of all participants.
The interviews used what can be loosely described as a narrative biographical
method (Riessman 1993; Roberts 2002) to explore participants careers, with
a focus on decision-making. This involved asking participants to map out
their entire employment history and subsequently focussing on key moments
in their career and decision-making related to those events. We were
particularly interested in how participants decisions and change resulting
from those decisions were perceived and experienced in terms of risk. In
contrast to common approaches to the study of risk perceptions, the narrative
biographical approach enabled us to de-centre the question of risk in the
interview context. Empirical research on risk perceptions often assume prima
facie that risk is a significant dimension of peoples worldviews (see Tulloch
and Lupton 2003). In contrast, we de-centred risk in our study by not using
the term actively in our interviews. Participants were informed that the
2

For a discussion of class schemes used by sociologists, see Roberts 2001.

research was about careers and the decisions people make about their
careers. In this sense, a framework for invoking a discussion of risk was
offered. However, careers and decision-making were not introduced in the
interviews as being particularly or inherently associated with risk. The
interviews did include questions about, for example, trust in employers and
support networks, level of knowledge about future options, and consequences
when plans do not work out. By using the biographical narrative approach we
have thus de-centred the subject of risk in the interview situation.
Nonetheless, we are using the analytical tool of a constructed typology of
ideal types in order to read risk back into the biographical narratives offered
by our interviewees.
Typology of risk and decision-making
To aid the analysis we designed a typology of decision-making, risk
awareness and risk preparedness grounded in our initial understanding of key
factors that appeared to distinguish different types of individuals from each
other in our first reading of the transcripts. The typology construction process
was also informed by our reading of classic theoretical texts on the Risk
Society thesis (Beck 1992; Giddens 1991). The classification of individuals
according to the various types in our typology was guided by an interest in
how people presented themselves to the interviewer, or what type of
individual their biographical narrative revealed. We were concerned with the
extent to which individuals presented themselves as active decision-makers,
as going with the flow, or as forced by factors beyond their control when
entering the labour market or when experiencing changes in their labour
market participation (such as voluntary change of employer, redundancy and
unemployment). We were especially looking at how individuals presented
themselves and whether or not this reflected or contradicted the actions they
had actually taken (or not taken/being forced to take). Furthermore, we were
keen to achieve an understanding of how class background and education
might impact on the biographical narratives presented by the interviewees and
thus on our placement of individuals in relation to the different types in the
typology. Table 1 presents our draft of a typology of risk and decision-making
in the context of labour market entry and participation.

Table 1. A typology of views on decision-making and risk in the context

of labour market entry and participation
TYPE 1
Active individual
decision-making; sees
self as in control.
Aspirations of upward
social mobility. Aware of
choice and options.
Little or no reliance on
family, friends and
institutions in order to
get jobs. Self-fulfilment
important aspect of
work.

TYPE 2
Things just happen, I go
with the flow, takes
each day as it comes.
Aware of alternative
choices and options but
not necessarily using
them actively. Might rely
on assistance from
family, friends and
institutions to get jobs or
get by, especially in
down periods.

TYPE 3
Forces beyond
individuals control are
decisive. Limited
choice and not aware
of alternative options.
Reliance on family,
friends and institutions
in order to get jobs.
Financial need at
centre stage.

High risk awareness

Important for individual
to feel in control or as
having made decisions
that enhance life quality
beyond basic
necessities. The future
is important and
individual has plans for
it (risk aware and
prepared). Not worried
about future; feels in
charge by having
reduced risk.
Sees education beyond
obligatory schooling as
essential in preparing
for working life
Expectation: Younger
generation individuals
most likely to present
themselves as type 1

Low risk awareness

Flexible attitude towards
life. Accepts ups and
downs, takes one day at
a time: not thinking or
worrying much about the
future, not planning
much beyond everyday
life.

Medium risk
awareness
Important for individual
to keep control over
everyday life basics
such as provision of
home and food for
family. Future cant be
planned but individual
is worried about it and
feels a lack of control
(risk aware but not in
material position to
prepare).
Only compulsory
schooling before entry
to labour market; long
working life
Expectation: Older
generation individuals
most likely to present
themselves as type 3

Mix of schooling and

work, no real
commitment to any
Expectation: To be
found among both
younger and older
generation.

Descriptive analysis
When we classified the 29 parents and 29 offspring according to the types in
our typology, we obtained the following distribution across types among the
two generations:

Table 2
Type 1
Active decisionmaker, high risk
awareness
Type 2
Go with the
flow, low risk
awareness
Type 3
Constrained by
external factors,
medium risk
awareness
Mixed Types

Parents
3

Off-spring
7

12

Table 2 shows that some individuals displayed characteristics from more than
one ideal type. These were classified as mixed types. Mixed types
encompassed both individuals who had moved from one type to another
during the life course (for example where their entry into the labour market
could be classified as type 3 and where their subsequent employment history
or career displayed characteristics from type 1 or 2), and individuals who
throughout their employment career demonstrated a mix of elements from
different types.
The parent generation was dominated by individuals classified as either Type
3 or as Mixed Types. All the clean Type 3s among the parent generation
came from working class backgrounds, and only one of them had received
education (2 year college) beyond compulsory schooling. Note that our
sample of the parent generation was initially skewed towards working class
backgrounds. 3 The individuals from the parent generation classified as either
Type 1, 2 or Mixed had a variety of backgrounds in terms of class belonging
and educational achievement, and were more likely to be from middle class
backgrounds and to have received education beyond compulsory schooling
(i.e. college or university attendance or degree) than those classified as Type
3

In the parent generation, 18 individuals were from the working classes, five from the middle
classes and six worked themselves out of the working and into the middle classes. In the
offspring generation, ten individuals were from the working classes, 16 from the middle
classes and three worked themselves out of the working and into the middle classes.

3. All but one of the mixed types among the parent generation displayed an
element of type 3, while this was the case for only four of the mixed types
among the offspring generation. From the perspective of risk theory, it is most
interesting and pertinent to examine further the cases that have been
classified as type 3 among the parent generation, as these would be
associated with a deterministic perspective on risk, rather than an
individualistic one. Furthermore, these cases are likely to be associated with
the use of traditional networks and support relationships, rather than with
individual autonomy and responsibility. We also find it interesting to focus on
those individuals of the parent generation who have entered the labour market
through traditional support networks and later on display changes in their
affinity with Type 3 towards either Type 1 or 2, as these would seem to
support the notion of change towards increasing individualisation. On the
other hand, such changes in affinity may also be a consequence of class
mobility or structural changes in the labour market, rather than of
individualisation.
The offspring generation was not dominated by any of the identified types.
Although the group displayed a complex picture of types, it is noticeable that
the number of individuals who displayed clean Type 3 characteristics has
fallen substantially from the parent generation. The five off-spring who are
clean Type 3s are children of Type 3 parents, and all of them are working
class individuals, with the exception of one who is mixed working to middleclass. The general direction of change in our sample from one generation to
the next is from a majority of Type 3 among the parent-generation to
increases in Type 1 and Type 2 and reductions in Type 3 among the offspring generation. The mixed type stays the same. 4 From the perspective of
risk theory, we find it most interesting to examine further those cases in which
Type 3 is not being maintained in the second generation, as these could
illustrate changes from more determined to more individualised biographies.
We are especially interested in the continuities and discontinuities that can be
observed between the parent and the offspring generation. Thus, the shift
from Type 3 to Type 1, 2 or Mixed is the main focus of our analysis.
As noted above, there are 16 female pairs and 13 male pairs in our sample.
The women in our sample tend to have higher education than the men (in
both the parent and the offspring generations), but the distribution of class
backgrounds (working or middle class) is roughly the same for both genders
in both generations. There are more Type 3 women in our sample than there
are Type 3 men, but this may be due to the difference in sample size for the
two genders.
All of the participants in our study presented themselves as individuals with a
strong work ethic. That is, they were committed to participating in the labour
market in order to provide for themselves and their families. A strong work
ethic was presented as not only a feature of their own disposition towards
work, but as an inherited attitude stemming from their family backgrounds.
4

The mixed type individuals of the offspring generation are not the direct offspring of mixed
types in the parent generation.

Our sample of course only included individuals with an attachment to the

labour market, which might itself propagate the value of labour market
participation. The strong work ethic included a commitment to provide for the
family, a deep hesitation, and even resentment, towards becoming dependent
on the welfare state, and the feeling that it was important to occupy oneself
with daily activities through work. As such, a strong Protestant work ethic and
attitude towards life shone through the biographical narratives presented by
the interviewees. What differed between individuals and between generations,
however, were the ways in which individuals entered the labour market, the
ways they made decisions about changes in their employment, and their
general attitude towards control and risk in relation to paid work.
Generational pathways to the labour market: The parent generation
Typically, members of the parent generation presented narratives in which
forces beyond their own control were decisive in relation to their first entry into
the labour market. Often, options and choices were quite limited, in terms of
both future educational and employment opportunities. Many working class
families were simply not in a position were they could support their children
through further education beyond compulsory schooling, and for some
families it was a question of sending their children to work and thus receiving
much needed additional income to support family needs. Ingrid (aged 67) is a
typical representative of her generation. She remembers having three options
when she left school at the age of 15: shop work, factory or office work. Her
dad would not let her work in a factory, and said she would be working all
hours at a shop, so office work was presented as the best option. Her mother
took her to find an office job at a company where her brother was already
employed, and she got a job there without being interviewed for it. Ingrid was
expected to contribute for her board at the family home. Her mother also
helped her to change jobs later on, as her mother contacted someone she
knew who then offered Ingrid a job. So I just went along, they werent
advertising, said Ingrid, who thought that it would be difficult to obtain a job in
the same informal way today. Ingrid often wishes she had become a nurse,
but reflects that she has had limited opportunities and choices.
James (77) is another typical representative of the parent generation. The
oldest of ten children, he left school at the age of 14, and remembers that he
had three choices when he was 15: iron works, upholstery or railways. James
made a conscious decision to go for what he perceived as the least risky
employer, namely the railway, which was the biggest employer in the area.
Moreover, his dad was already working for the railway, and helped get him a
job by arranging an interview. James worked on the railway all his life. Many
of the interviewees reminiscence about previous times when it was possible to
obtain a job for life when you entered the labour market. To them, a job for
life presented something positive, as secure, long-term jobs enabled people to
worry less about possible redundancies and unemployment. The interviewees
clearly saw the option of having a job for life as something belonging to the
past; as something unachievable in todays labour market.
Among the parent generation, we have not found narratives to be permeated
by any strong sense of risk in relation to entry into the labour market. Although

options were in many cases limited, there were not any instances where
members of the parent generation were left with no choice at all. Furthermore,
they were able to rely to a large extent on personal networks, and in a few
cases also on institutions like the Labour Exchange if such networks were
non-existing, when seeking entry to the labour market. Pathways to
employment were thus usually determined by (limited) local opportunity
structures and personal networks consisting of family, friends and their
connections to local employers. 5 Large scale businesses like the railway,
mining, the textile industry and factories gave young people the opportunity to
enter the local labour market. Options depended on what your local area
could offer, as the geographical mobility of individuals was limited due to lack
of transport and other factors. Class location (i.e., belonging to the working
classes) also functioned to constrain individual choice and opportunities.
Mildred (68), for example, left school at 15, and was presented with only one
option as her mother found her a job in a factory where her older sister
already worked. As soon as she grew in confidence and experience, however,
she realised there were other factories in her area that offered better pay, and
she actually found it easy to change jobs: Well, jobs were available then. I
mean if you didnt like a job today you got another job tomorrow. It was, it was
so easy. There were three big factories in Mildreds local area, and the
second job she found was at a factory where her aunt had previously worked.
If you got a job at one of these factories, youd got a job for life if you wanted
it. Nowadays nobody can say that, that theyve got a job for life because they
havent, said Mildred. The main driving force for labour market participation
among study participants from the parent generation has been financial need.
Money to pay for housing, food and clothing for the family has been the most
important employment outcome for this cohort.
Generational pathways to the labour market: The offspring generation
Looking at the offspring generation, it is clear that changes have taken place
in relation to entry into the labour market, compared with the parent
generation. Recall that the number of clean Type 3 individuals fell from
twelve in the parent generation to five in the offspring generation. Moreover,
the prevalence of Type 3 elements fell from eight among the mixed type
parents to four among the mixed type offspring. On the whole, there is less
reliance on family, friends and institutions among the offspring generation
than we found among the parent generation in relation to entry to the labour
market. We also see a notable increase in the number of individuals classified
as Type 1 or Type 2 among the offspring generation compared to that of the
parent generation.
Rebecca (23) is a typical representative of the offspring generation. After
completing her university degree she has taken a job and deferred her plans
for post-graduate education for a year. She has doubts about going back to
university, as she also has ideas for a private business. She is constantly
doubting what to do and constantly weighing her options: Should I, Shouldnt
I?. She associates her insecurity with the fact that she has lots of
5

Cartmel (2004) has found the same to be true today among young people in rural labour
markets in Scotland. See also Grieco (1987) for a study of the importance of family and
friends in the obtainment of employment opportunities.

10

opportunities and options in terms of what direction to take. Although she

appreciates having many options, it makes it hard for her to choose a
particular direction. Any and all choices will contribute to the making of her
biography and self-identity. Rebecca is used to making her own decisions and
likes to be in control of what she is doing. Her motive in seeking a job is to
stay financially independent from a future husband, to enjoy a high standard
of living, and to be a valued member of society. She sees her self as having
more choices and options than her mother Amelia (62), who was instructed by
her father and cousin to work at a particular company after having finished
compulsory schooling. Amelias options were further impeded by an early start
to her own family and by her husbands expectations. Rebecca reflected that
she would not want to find herself in a similar position to her mother, and
insisted that she will make her own choices despite any objections or
resistance from her parents. She is not sure if she is always choosing the right
course of action, and sometimes it feels really risky, but it will always be
something positive, said Rebecca. Interestingly, later on in life her mother
Amelia has become more assertive and has decided to take more control of
her own life, which is reflected in the training and career decisions she made
when in her fifties. Perhaps her four children, including Rebecca, have been a
source of inspiration to change. Although our analysis is focused on changes
from one generation to the next, it is important to point out that
intergenerational transmission can go in two directions: from the parents to
their offspring, and from offspring to their parents. Generations are not fixed in
time, and older people can experience individualization processes as well as
younger people.
Another example of a discontinuity in outlooks between the parent and the
offspring generation is that of Ingrid (67), whom we described above, and her
daughter Isabella (37). As we have seen, Ingrid is a typical representative of
the parent generation Type 3 individual, who has experienced limited choice
and opportunity in terms of labour market entry and participation. Her
daughter Isabella, on the other hand, displays characteristics that can be
described as proto-typical of the individual in Becks Risk Society. Although
she has been at the same company since leaving school at the age of 18,
Isabella has been through numerous job changes and has taken on more and
increasingly challenging responsibilities within the company. She is confident,
has career aspirations, and cares about her own success. Her biographical
narrative is suffused with the notion of individual agency and choice. She sees
herself as having made opportunities for herself by taking risks within the
company, by pushing herself forward to take on new roles and
responsibilities. Her narrative is also contradictory, as she claims not to think
about the future. She has, however, reduced her financial risks by investing
money and thus obtaining security through house ownership. She also has a
pension fund. She is thus risk aware and risk prepared, and feels she does
not have to worry about the future. Isabella describes herself as sensible in
not spending everything she earns. Security is important to her, and she is
completely aware that her job may not be for life: Work is something these
days that is not a given, its not a permanent [thing]. Although she cares
about the financial security a job can and does give her, her driver for change
is stimulation and challenge. Self-satisfaction is thus a deeply rooted

11

motivation in her work. She is also aware of the generational differences

between herself and her mother: Because everything that Ive said has been
me, me, me, hasnt it? While her mum, on the other hand, has always made
her decisions with a view to other people around her, namely her husband
and children.
Peter (47) also provides us with an example of a proto-typical individual in
Becks Risk Society, albeit in different ways than Isabella. While Isabella has
worked for the same company but in different and increasingly challenging
roles over the years, Peter has been in and out of jobs for various employers.
His father, Paul (80), is one of the few individuals in our sample who have
relied on institutional assistance to get jobs. Paul came from a small town and
in fact used the Labour Exchange twice to get jobs; the first time at fourteen
years of age and then again a few years later. Paul had limited job
opportunities, but in hindsight he feels that the jobs he has had have been his
choice, that he has made the right decisions, and that he has been in control
of his career promotions and progression. His son Peter, on the other hand,
found it hard to obtain a job after having obtained a university degree. He
thought it difficult to choose what to do, and had about fifty interviews before
he got his first job in which he stayed for three and a half years. He then
changed job within the company and stayed another two and a half years
before changing jobs again. He always worried about redundancy, and
maintained a constant vigilance of the job market, just in case. He describes
the last two and a half years at the company as a high anxiety period, with
no feeling of job security. He was eventually made redundant by the
company he worked for next, and was subsequently unemployed for a while.
From then on, his career can be described as a constant move between short,
temporary contracts, and unemployment. In one period, he had sent out one
thousand CVs and had 55 interviews. Despite such financial instability,
however, Peter finds it more important to have the right kind of job than to
receive the added benefits a job can offer (e.g., a company car or shares).
Although it is important for him to work from an economic standpoint, he
would also like to be able to make a difference through his job. In his current
position he enjoys job security, as he is working for a government agency.
Feeling that something is missing, however, and that he needs more
inspiration in his work, he is now looking for a new job opportunity. As a
consequence of the instabilities in his employment history, he finds it difficult
to trust anyone. He is very aware that the economy and market forces affect
job seekers, and feels that he has been able to make the best decisions that
the market has allowed. He is adamant that he has made his own choices,
and not been influenced by family or friends, and that his decisions have been
the best he could make at the time. Peter is thus caught between
individualised responsibility and structural constraints placed on individual
agency, or between what Beck calls the placing of each persons biography
in his or her own hands, open and dependent on decisions (Beck 1992: 135)
and the constraints produced by the economy, the labour market and
consumerism (ibid.: 131 In his opinion, there is a lack of community networks
in todays environment, and society has developed towards what he calls self
individualism. ). In such a climate, and reflecting on his own experiences,
Peter has come to take the view that the reality is that you can never be

12

totally secure. Having lost money on the sale of a property he once owned,
he sees his pension fund and the prospect of inheriting his parents house as
providing long term security. In his view he is not to be blamed for the bad
timing associated with his entry into the job market and subsequent job
changes and property sale. Rather, these events have been marked by
constraints produced by economic and societal factors. Peter has thus not
taken on board a perception of structural inequalities as personal
shortcomings (Mythen 2005: 135), which would inevitably characterise a
fundamentally individualised society.
Continuities and discontinuities between generations
A closer examination of how parents and their offspring were classified
according to types 1, 2 and 3 in our typology reveals that there are elements
of inheritance or continuity between two generations of adult individuals from
within the same families in relation to their self-definition and outlook on
decision-making and risk awareness in relation to the labour market. Of the 29
pairs in our analysis, twenty demonstrate continuity in their self-definition and
outlooks, in the sense that they at least share elements from one of the types
in our typology. Continuity, however, does not necessarily imply a direct
transmission of values and outlooks, as it may rather be a reflection of a
common social location (Scabini and Marta 2006: 85). As we have seen,
though, there is evidence of upward social mobility from one generation to the
next in our sample in terms of both educational achievement and occupational
status. Moreover, continuity does not imply a wholesale transmission of
values and outlooks, as there may be a mix of shared and not shared
elements from one generation to the next. As we have discussed above, this
is the case for about one third of our sample.
Our research supports a notion of complex and dynamic relations between
different generations and between individual agency and structural
constraints. In the case of Mildred (68) and her daughter Ella (30), for
example, the labour market trajectories have so far been very similar, and
both have been classified as Type 3. As we saw above, Mildred relied on
family members in order to obtain jobs at factories in her local area, and her
main driving force for paid employment was financial need. Her daughter Ella
was helped by her dad who found her an office job when she finished a
secretarial college course. The value that you get a job, it doesnt matter
what it is as long as youre earning money was passed down to her from her
parents: Because with my family it was get a job, you know, youre ok as long
as you get a job, it doesnt matter if youre not happy, its money, you know.
At the time, Ella was not sure what she really wanted to do; she lacked selfconfidence and found that her options were limited. In hindsight, she regrets
the fact that she comes from a working class background as she is sure this
has limited her opportunities. For example, she has never been encouraged
to go to university or to make her own decisions. Her parents have tried to
help in their own way by trying to make the decisions for me and telling me
what to do, thats their way of helping, which really is a hindrance because its
not let me make my own decisions and try things out for myself. She insists
that her working class background and upbringing has limited her
opportunities in both a material and a psychological sense, as she has been

13

taught to think in ways that have produced limits on her ability to choose
alternative pathways (Im always held back).
At the time of the interview, however, Ella has reached a turning point in her
life, largely due to having developed a work-related illness. After handing in
her notice and staying home with small children for a while, she is now taking
a college course and planning to do voluntary work and become enrolled in
further part-time education in order to fulfil her newly formed career
aspirations. She is no longer interested in having a job just to earn money;
she wants to improve herself, improve her children and probably help other
people, and she feels that she is exercising more agency than ever before
through making her own decisions. There are still some constraining factors,
such as having children and paying a mortgage, which she sees as reducing
her possibility to take chances. These factors might for example prevent her
from going to university. Importantly, however, she feels she has now rejected
the values and outlooks she inherited from her parents. Instead of taking a job
just because it will provide money, she finds it important to go in the right
direction now and to break the cycle instead of repeating an inherited
pattern. In this case, it appears that a common social location (working class
background) has been decisive for the type of values and outlooks that have
been passed on from one generation to the next. On the other hand, the
family context has not determined the life trajectory of Ella, as she has broken
with some inherited family expectations and values. She has done this by
changing her outlook from seeing a job as only a source of income to seeing a
job as both a source of income and of personal fulfilment. The case is
illustrative of the importance of the social context in which families and
generations find themselves and its impact on values and outlooks. It could be
that assumed societal changes towards the acceptance (and indeed
expectation) of personal well-being, meaning and self-satisfaction as
important driving forces in the lives of individuals (Lasch 1991) have
contributed to Ellas courage, motivation and opportunity to reach beyond the
satisfaction of material needs. In this sense Ella has taken on responsibilities
for her own future life chances, choices and options. The case shows
evidence of a heightened sense of risk in Ellas life, but it is paired with a
heightened sense of opportunity to realise personal aspirations, make
decisions and take risks that may positively affect her own and her childrens
social mobility.
In our sample there are nine pairs that demonstrate dissimilar self-definitions
and outlooks by not sharing any elements from the types in our typology.
These include Isabella and Peter, who were introduced above as the two
members of the offspring generation that display characteristics that can be
described as proto-typical of an individual in Becks Risk Society. In seven of
the nine dissimilar pairs the parent member was either a clean or a mixed
type 3, while none of the children displayed characteristics from type 3. An
interesting case which further illustrates changes from the more determined
trajectories buttressed by traditional support networks to more individualised
biographies is that of Sally (76) and her daughter Susan (45). A type 3
individual, Sally has a working class background. She left school at 16, and all
her jobs but one have been found through word of mouth or a network of

14

family and friends. Her jobs have always been a means to an end (earning
money) and never part of her identity. Her daughter Susan, on the other hand,
is a middle class mixed Type 1 and 2 individual who sees her job as part of
her identity: I mean it is my life in a way. It is what I believe in. She sees
herself as very different to her mother, and states that her mother has never
been driven. Earning money is however not a driving force for Susan: Im
not sure thats what life is really about for me. She has not planned her
working life, and has instead taken up job opportunities that have come along.
Currently she is in a part-time job that is not secure, and sees this as a
potential risk, but she has no fears for the financial situation of her family. In
addition to doing freelance work she and her partner have taken out mortgage
protection, and they have equity in a second house they own. They are in the
process of taking out life insurance to protect the children. Susan is thus both
risk aware and prepared. It would be difficult to claim, however, that Susans
life differs from that of her mother because of societal changes towards
increasing individualisation. The generational shift in this family from a
working to a middle class location and identity might provide a better
explanation of the difference between seeing a job as a source of money and
seeing it as a source of self-fulfilment.
Just as the detection of agreement or similarity between generations is not
synonymous with transmission from one generation to the next, a lack of
similarity does not necessarily imply failure of transmission (Scabini and Marta
2006: 87). It is likely that general societal changes in values, outlooks and
practices from one generation to the next have a significant impact on
generational changes that can be found within families. For example,
structural changes in the labour market might facilitate changes in how
individuals view opportunities and constraints in relation to their own labour
market participation. Moreover, it is likely that even though a lack of similarity
can be detected between parents and their offspring in relation to some of the
values they attach to labour market participation (earning money versus self
realisation), other values that are of importance to labour market attachment
(work ethic, socialising with other people) may remain constant across
generations. As stated earlier, all the participants in our study presented
themselves as having a strong work ethic, even though the motivation to take
on work seems to have developed from taking on paid work to provide for self
and family to taking on paid work to fulfil personal aspirations and enhance
personal life quality. A broader examination of values and outlooks would
present a greater potential for generational transmission but remains outside
the remits of our paper.
Conclusion
In this paper we have examined how people from different generations
narrate their own life history in relation to decision-making and risk in the
context of labour market entry and participation. Our observation is that
important changes have taken place from one generation to the next, from
more determined trajectories for the parent generation to more individualised
and open-ended trajectories for the offspring generation in relation to entry
and participation in the labour market. Among the older generation, and
especially among those with a working class background, we found that

15

individuals were often using networks consisting of family members and

friends, and in a few cases relied on institutional support from public job
agencies, in order to obtain entry to the labour market. Many in the parent
generation were happy to be in a job for life, as this provided secure income.
Money was most often the driving force for the parent generations
participation in the labour market. Although the local employment market and
personal networks were important in determining their job opportunities, we
found no pervasive sense of risk among members of the parent generation. In
the words of one individual, John (74), there was always some sort of work.
In a sense it is community and family life, and aspirations in terms of earning
your way and not being a burden on society, that takes centre stage in the
biographical narratives of the parent generation.
Among the offspring generation, however, it is the individual that increasingly
takes centre stage in the biographical narratives. The new generation has
been presented with many more options and opportunities than the old
generation, and this in turn has made it more difficult to choose a path. The
development of self-identity and satisfaction seems to hinge on the ability to
make the right choices in an often confusing world. This generation is risk
aware, and individuals find themselves in a more or less constant self-doubt
where they are unsure whether they are actually making the right choices.
Individuals are also actively seeking and taking on risks as they seize on the
opportunities that come along. Risk awareness, however, does not
necessarily imply risk preparedness, and many lament that they have no job
security or investments for the future. For this generation, the labour market is
constantly changing, and jobs are perceived as more volatile and less secure
than in the past. Individualised biographies are being worked on an produced
in an environment where the individual is still faced with structural constraints.
These are no longer produced by the limits of local employment markets and
personal networks of friends and family, but by the economy, the labour
market and consumerism (Beck 1992). However, class background continues
to impact on individuals perceptions and experiences of opportunities,
constraints, agency and risk.
Our analysis has demonstrated a clear direction to the change that has taken
place between the two generations when it comes to views on decisionmaking and risk in the context of labour market entry and participation. Rather
than a pervasive and massive change, what we have found is a mixed picture
of continuity and discontinuity between the generations. Family class
backgrounds appear to influence the opportunities that members of the
offspring generation have been met with and the choices that they have
made. At the same time, societal changes towards individualisation and less
reliance on tradition appears to have influenced the ways in which members
of the offspring generation have been met with more opportunities and also
their increased ability to make individual choices. In some cases offspring
have resisted parental influences through individual agency, but in this
process they have been aided by societal changes in how we all apply for and
obtain work. What is different from the offspring generation when compared to
the parent generation is that their biographies are much more individualised
and suffused with notions of agency and risk. What remains in place,

16

however, are the experience of how structural constraints, such as those

produced by individual economic backgrounds and by economic and social
factors in the larger society, put limits on the opportunities, and therefore also
the risks, that we are in a position to take.

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