Is working life like a dreary autumn or a lively vappu?

In this blog, Akavan opiskelijat reflect on what working life looks like to today’s students.

Working life, the everyday life of an adult and the eternally spinning treadmill.

This is the way in which working life is unfortunately discussed. Working life is often talked about as a rat race, a mandatory and boring obligation, while the studying is considered a period when you are allowed to have fun, create networks, make friends with new people, and develop yourself and learn new things. Akavan opiskelijat sees the matter a little differently.

The Youth Barometer published earlier in the spring shows that although young people’s faith in both the future and employment (Nuorisobarometri 2025) is poor, more than 80 per cent want to complete a higher education degree. So for many, studying is something to strive for and that is certainly very much awaited. May Day is a good example of what studying at its best entails. In a world where tomorrow is increasingly difficult to predict, it is important to get together and have fun. To enjoy good weather and good company, to celebrate and rejoice. Could it be the case that working life could be the same?

Although the transition to working life may seem like a scary step towards ‘growing up’ waiting around the corner, a boring and mundane tomorrow may not be what is waiting around the corner. At the workplace, there are largely the same opportunities to make friends, network and have fun as when studying, but due to the discussion in society and the decisions made, working life is becoming a frightening grey mass for young people and students.

How many people have heard from their parents, relatives or acquaintances about how they have been in the same job for 45 years? And for how many people does this cause palpitations and the formation of cold sweats? Why should work be some kind of stage in life when learning and self-development stop and the fun stops? Companies and business life need experts who are committed to their work, but who are constantly learning new things and want to advance in their careers. Let’s continue to give people the opportunity to experience new things, fail and learn from their mistakes.

Now that May Day has been celebrated and summer can begin, many people are moving on to work, either after graduation or to start a summer job. Let’s keep in mind that work is not and should not be such a gray mass, but work is a place where you can make mistakes, learn new things, create networks, grow and find new friends. In other words, work is exactly what we make of it together. Let’s make the workplaces the same as our student days. Colorful, fun and places that are always nice to return to.

Thank you for a fun May Day and have a great summer!

Akavan Opiskelijat