Beyond the Narratives of Experience and Money
The Formation of Teenage Students as Labor in Sweden
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2371320 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anna Kallos (0009-0007-7828-7442, Lund University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 629-644 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Critical Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0896-9205 • E-ISSN: 1569-1632 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/08969205251346899 |
| OpenAlex | W4411373749 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 44 |
This article examines the formation of teenage students as workers through their participation in low-status service jobs, building on Weeks' theorization of the contemporary work ethic. Based on 40 interviews with working teenagers in Sweden, the analysis explores how they use narratives of working to 'gain experience' and 'earn extra money' in response to the cultural imperative of constructing a self that holds value for employers. It highlights how these shared narratives, while enabling teenagers to make sense of their work experiences, also reflect embodied inequalities, with classed, racialized, and neighborhood-based social differences shaping their understanding of the working self. The article contributes to theorizing the ideological and practical role of paid work in shaping youth subjectivities and expands our understanding of how differently situated teenagers become part of the low-wage service labor force
Economics · Labour economics · Narrative · Sociology · Employment and Welfare Studies · Gender Studies · Work-Family Balance Challenges · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
The Entrepreneurial Self
Discourses on employability
(Not) Getting Paid to Do What You Love
Powers of Freedom
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Talking about Work
Youth, work and global capitalism
Risk, discomfort and disruption
Is Adolescent Employment Still a Risk Factor for High School Dropout
Becoming employable students and ‘ideal’ creative workers
Youth rising? The politics of youth in the global economy
Youth at Work
Connecting the Young
Adolescent work intensity, school performance, and substance use
Using thematic analysis in psychology
The Cost of Being a Girl
Citizens in the Making
Doing Business in the Schools of the Welfare State
The Problem with Work
Covid-19, young people and the futures of work
Classificatory Struggles
Claims to whiteness
Youthfulness and immaterial labour in the new economy
Class and the post-Fordist work ethic
Learning the post-Fordist feeling rules
Poverty Talk
All that is Solid Melts into Work
Educational and Work Strategies from Adolescence to Early Adulthood
Youth, Work and 'Career' as a Way of Talking about the Self
Life out of Synch
New Perspectives on School Students' Part-time Work
The Making of Class and Gender through Visualizing Moral Subject Formation
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |