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What teenagers value in working life can strongly influence how their adult lives turn out

It can shape them for the rest of their lives – from educational choices and income to family and housing.

The study shows that work values largely shape young people's decisions in all important areas of life.

(Photo: Colourbox)

Halvard Dyb COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER

Presented by: Oslo Metropolitan University

Published 9 June 2025 - 00:01

Young people's thoughts about work during their teenage years play a surprisingly big role in their lives as adults. This is shown in the large Norwegian study Young in Norway, where researchers followed over 2,000 people for 28 years.

“This is the first international study to show that work values in youth significantly shape decisions in all major areas of life – not just in work or education,” says Michal Kozák.

He is a researcher at OsloMet.

“Our findings highlight the need for early and effective career guidance in schools,” says Michal Kozák.

“Until now, we also didn’t know that young people’s thoughts about work are linked to whether they plan to move out of their parents’ home or their chances of ending up on welfare,” he says.

Together with researcher Tilmann von Soest from the University of Oslo, Kozák has researched the topic.

They studied the connection between four types of work values in youth, and how these relate to key aspects of adult life such as income, education, relationships, and parenthood.

The four values are: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, altruistic values, and challenge aversion.

Altruistic means putting others’ needs before one's own without expecting anything in return.

How these values affect adult life

“Teens who valued meaning, creativity, and personal growth in work tended to move out of their parents’ home earlier – but they also earned less as adults,” says Kozák.

Those who appreciated helping others were more likely to marry and have children. Teens with extrinsic motivation – focused on high pay and status – had the highest income as adults.

The least successful group were those who preferred low-demand jobs and lots of free time. They acheived both lower education levels and weaker attachment to working life.

“Our data shows that having high challenge aversion as a teen doubles the chance of receiving welfare benefits as an adult,” says von Soest.

He says that it also lowers the chances of obtaining a university degree and is linked to earning nearly NOK 50,000 (5,000 USD) less per year.

Four types of teen work values

Intrinsic values: These focus on meaning and self-development. Teens with these values want a job that gives personal growth, creativity, and a sense of purpose – more than high salary or status.
Extrinsic values: These are about money, status, and prestige. Teens who value this want high pay, a secure job, and social recognition. They aim to 'climb the ladder.'
Altruistic values: These are about helping others. Teens with these values want to contribute to society and work with or for people – for example, in healthcare, caregiving, or teaching.
Challenge aversion: These teens want to avoid stress and demanding work. They prefer short days, lots of free time, and low pressure. They tend to avoid jobs that require effort or learning.

Norwegian teens value self-development the most

The study found a clear pattern in what young people value most in working life.

At the top of the list are intrinsic values – joy, personal development, and meaningful work.

Next comes altruism – helping others and contributing to society.

Extrinsic values like money, status, and material rewards come in third place.

At the bottom is challenge aversion – a tendency to avoid risk or change at work.

Even though teens across the world often rate non-material job aspects higher than material ones, young Norwegians in the study showed surprisingly low levels of ambition compared to youth in American studies.

Kozák believes it is likely that the low ambitions are linked to Norway's culture of egalitarianism.

“Here, equality and community are core values. Standing out with unusually high ambitions may be seen as the opposite of being inclusive. Since everyone is encouraged to contribute in their own way, there is less focus on personal power and status,” he says.

Early career guidance is important

“Our findings highlight the need for early and effective career guidance in schools,” says Kozák.

He also points out that parents play an important role, as work values are often passed from parents to children.

“Parents’ opinions, activities, and advice related to work likely play a big role in shaping their children's ambitions and preferences,” he says.

The study clearly shows that the values young people carry into adulthood are more than just ideals – they actually shape the overall course of their lives.

Important parts of adult life, like having a job, a home of your own, and a family, are strongly influenced by attitudes that begin forming as early as in high school.

Reference:

Kozák, M. & von Soest, T. Adolescent work values and adult attainment in key social domains two decades later: evidence from a population-based longitudinal study of Norwegian men and women, Journal of Education and Work, vol. 37, 2025. DOI: 10.1080/13639080.2025.2456838

About the Young in Norway study

The Young in Norway study has been ongoing since 1992. Researchers have followed several thousand people who were teenagers in the early 1990s through to adulthood. They have tracked how teenagers’ attitudes about work connected with how their lives turned out – in terms of education, income, family, and housing.

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Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no