{"id":152465,"date":"2023-03-27T11:03:13","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T09:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=152465"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:42","slug":"tight-labour-market-is-leading-to-better-student-jobs-young-people-are-getting-used-to-flexibility-and-higher-wages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/03\/27\/tight-labour-market-is-leading-to-better-student-jobs-young-people-are-getting-used-to-flexibility-and-higher-wages\/","title":{"rendered":"Tight labour market is leading to better student jobs: \u2018Young people are getting used to flexibility and higher wages\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students with part-time jobs are noticing that employers are making more of an effort due to the shortages on the labour market. \u201cAt work, they really want me to still be there in the summer.\u201d<\/p>

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJosine Henneken<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cYou\u2019re not leaving us, are you? These kinds of subtle jokes are made at the office on a regular basis\u201d, says Hadassa Baars (19, Law and Business Administration). She works at an investment company in Rotterdam, where she carries out administrative tasks and maintains contact with clients. \u201cMy manager makes it clear that my efforts are appreciated by the company. For example, he often checks to see whether I\u2019m happy here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018When I have an exam week, my manager says: your education comes first\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Nicky van der Meer (19, Business Administration) also gets a similar level of appreciation in her part-time job as a waitress in a caf\u00e9. She notes that her work has become more flexible. \u201cNowadays, my employer doesn\u2019t mind if you only want to work one day at the weekends, even though it\u2019s the norm in the hospitality industry to work both days during that period.\u201d She is also given the time she needs to focus on her studies: \u201cWhen I have an exam week, my manager says: \u2018Your education comes first.\u2019 At work, they really like the fact that I\u2019ll still be there in the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeping employees satisfied<\/h2>

The pressure on the labour market has never been so high. In the last quarter of 2022, there were 123 vacancies for every 100 unemployed people<\/a>, much more than the average of 45 in the last ten years. According to Jan van Ours, professor of Labour Economics, employers are making more of an effort as a result of the shortages on the labour market. This ultimately leads to better jobs. \u201cThe best job market is one in which there is a shortage, because then employers have to compete for employees. They are partly doing this through the salary, but also partly by means of the working conditions. This increases the quality of the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Ours approves of this accommodating approach on the part of employers: \u201cI\u2019m pleased that employers are taking the wishes of employees into account. An employer has many more ways to keep an employee happy than the other way around, so if an employer has to do their best to attract and retain an employee, I think that\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortages<\/h2>

Students with part-time jobs are seeing staff shortages in all kinds of different sectors. Hadassa comes into contact with numerous startups through her work, and notes that there is a lot of demand for employees there: \u201cOnce you get a foot in the door somewhere, you gain a lot of contacts and hear about numerous shortages. I hear from lots of startups that they are now also hiring students to relieve the pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Education is one sector in which staff shortages have been the order of the day for years. Karlijn Kortleve (22) and Hiba Dadouch (24) see this in practice on a daily basis. The two Master\u2019s students of Orthopedagogical Science work as primary school teachers alongside their studies. According to Hiba, \u201cIf someone is ill, children are divided between other classes or taught by someone who isn\u2019t qualified. Sometimes they\u2019re even sent home.\u201d That means there is a lot of work available for Karlijn and Hiba. Technically speaking, they only teach one day a week but are often asked to stand in for other people.<\/p>\n

Switching jobs<\/h2>

Nonetheless, the level of appreciation in the sector is disappointing: as yet, there are no bonuses or better working conditions to speak of for new teachers. Karlijn: \u201cAt most, you\u2019ll get a bit of a head start on the housing market, but the allocation of housing isn\u2019t going well yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Due to the shortages in the education sector, many teacher training students are tempted to switch jobs, Karlijn says: \u201cAlmost everyone I speak to on our course says that they don\u2019t want to spend five days a week in the classroom, and I feel the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

People are indeed changing jobs faster, as evidenced by figures from the UWV (Employee Insurance Agency)<\/a>. This applies in particular to people with a flexible employment contract, a temporary contract or those who are doing temp work, for example. Van Ours acknowledges that it is easier for employees to change jobs in order to find better working conditions elsewhere: \u201cThe content of a job is mainly determined by the employer. If you want something as an employee, you can vote with your feet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018young people have become accustomed to flexibility and higher wages\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Flexibility<\/h2>

Students also want to work more flexibly, according to Micky Chan of Minite, a temporary employment agency on the campus that offers students freelance work that ties in with their studies. The co-founder explains how online temping platforms have introduced students to this concept. \u201cIn recent years, we\u2019ve seen the rapid rise of Young Ones and Temper. Because of these platforms, young people have become accustomed to flexibility and higher wages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Employers are increasingly responding to the new working attitude of Gen Z, as Micky notes at her temping agency. \u201cCompanies sometimes say: \u2018I\u2019ve had an open vacancy for a junior developer for the past six months.\u2019 Then we look at the vacancy and see that it\u2019s compulsory to work in the office. That\u2019s quite an outdated approach, so we get together with companies to see whether working in the office is really necessary.\u201d She says that an increasing number of companies are becoming more flexible when it comes to working from home: \u201cIt\u2019s a new job market and a new generation. Employers need to accept that times are changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Better jobs<\/h2>

The ability to work flexibly and from home is also important for law student Fiona Verkerk (21). Alongside her job at the university\u2019s Academic Affairs department, she also works as a tutor at Lyceo: \u201cI can do a lot of the administrative work for Academic Affairs from home, which I really appreciate, and when I have exams my colleagues are very flexible.\u201d She can also work flexibly as a tutor: \u201cIf I have a few days off, it\u2019s easy for me to work extra hours.\u201d This is because the tutoring company is also experiencing staff shortages: \u201cI notice that we have a lot of vacancies and in addition, people often have to be scheduled last minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Ours considers it a good development that employers must compete for employees: \u201cIt means that employers need to make more of an effort. Some productivity may be lost as a result, but that\u2019s the natural course of things. It\u2019s also part of progress, creative destruction. Jobs are getting better and better as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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