‘Pimple-faced kid’s’ In the Job Market
We are all familiar with ‘The Simpsons’ wide variety of satirical characters, amongst whom
is Jeremy Freedman, accurately referred to as the ‘pimple-faced kid’ in the aptly (given its
detailed index of all things Simpsons) named ‘The Simpsons: A Complete Guide’, whose
minor, reoccurring role provides comic relief in depicting the awkward, incompetent teenager
occupying various low-paid service industry jobs (Krusty Burger, Lard Lad, I.R.S. Burger, to
name but a few). Routinely putting his foot in his mouth, making monumentally ridiculous
mistakes (such as reaching his hand into a deep fat fryer after dropping a Krusty’s taco
inside) and desperately trying to compensate and please with his comical cracked-puberty
voice. His reasoning ability and strengths as per The Simpsons Guide, are ‘uncertain’ and
‘none evident’. Although, for the most part harmless, this depiction of young employees, and
for that matter young people in general, is not far from widely conceived notions held by the
general public and more specifically, prospective employers. Employers view of young
jobseekers today and more importantly first-time jobseekers, are of course not shaped by the
young pimple-faced kid but are, to a certain extent, reflected by this portrayal.
In the rapid growing service industry (according to the Central Statistics Office, persons
engaged in the services sector increased by 2.8% in 2013 to 594,000) which requires those
vague ‘transferable skills’ we all too often hear of. The once valued specialised skills, college
degrees and education are now being pushed to the side lines as ‘good people skills’ and
adaptability are fore-fronted. These transferable skills, given their, have resulted in a large
pool of human resources, all with the same vague and de-specialised skills. There is no
shortage of ‘adaptable-good-communicators’ from employers to choose meaning each
individual’s value to the employer can only go so far.
Another requirement of these low-paid, low-skill jobs? Experience. Retail jobs and waiting
positions are advertised as requiring at least two years’ experience in said industry, previous
employer references essential. How does a first-time job seeker such as today’s young people
acquire such positions in our current job market when these ‘transferable skills’ (which may
be transferred from education, babysitting jobs or occupying roles of responsibility outside of
the workplace) just aren’t good enough? This is a viscous cycle in which young people are
neither given the opportunity to gain the required experience this industry demands nor the
credibility in their potential to learn.
As the job market gradually sinks further into neo-liberal thought, the friendly faces of the
service industry employers continue to demand more of their prospective employees whilst
offering them increasingly less. Dublin Bar Academy offers bar tending courses that range
from an intensive 2-day course to a comprehensive 4-week course, the prices ranging from
€249 to a whopping €1600. Similarly, The Dublin Barista School offers a one day workshop
starting at €150, all to work late hours in a bar or to serve coffee? As a young job-seeker,
splashing the cash to obtain the required skills to work in a minimum wage job has become a
necessity and the norm. Those who have been working in the industry for years usually
would’ve waltzed into a job unqualified, but trained extensively and specifically by their
employer, gaining experience through trust and through doing rather than paying.
Unfortunately, our society is moving into a faster pace of consumerism which apparently
does not allow the time for employers to train their staff to their specific requirements.
According to, the Central Statistics Office Ireland, labour force participation and
unemployment rates for 2011 showed that 56.5% of persons aged 15-19 were unemployed
with a total of 13.8% listed as participating in the labour force. Unfortunately, the research
was not extensive enough to obtain the reasons for such large unemployment rate amongst
young people, the lack of more recent research is also needed. However, the figures ring trueyoung people’s inability to gain experience is rendering it almost impossible to obtain even
the more standard minimum wage jobs.
Another dreaded word of today’s fast-paced job market? Flexibility. Companies advertising
as little as four hour contracts are requiring full flexibility over seven days a week. Not only
does this requirement rule out the possibility of juggling more than one job at a time, it also
rules out students of all types and all ages. According to research carried out by the
Department of Education, there are 179,850 people enrolled in full-time, third-level education
in Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2016, as well as 39,632 in part-time. These figures do not
include working secondary school students nor students in other forms of higher education.
Flexibility seems to be an employer’s number one concern in the service industry, and for
those students who do accept even low-hour contracts based on their ‘full flexibility’, there is
the risk of having to prioritise their minimum-wage job over their education. With the
expenses of third level education in Ireland paired with the increasingly high rent costs not to
mention bills, transport and supply expenses, students often aren’t left with much of a choice.
Being a student myself and in spite of my extensive experience in retail, securing work in
today’s job market requires a lot of time, patience and unfortunately telling some fibs. You
can kiss goodbye to that job in H&M without two full years-experience of working a till, and
God knows you dare not enter into a job with requirements of your own. When the required
skills of this type of employment are labelled transferable, it is to be expected that so are the
prospective employees. “What makes you an indispensable employee?” a favourite and
common interview question by my experience, the answer? The best answer that you can
think up of. It doesn’t matter. There is no answer to that question that can make one person
uniquely indispensable from a fast-food restaurant or high-street clothes shop and there will
always be another desperate young individual both capable and willing to take your place.
Yet another bad side-effect of the neo-liberal school of thought that renders the job market an
‘every man for himself’ zone.
Episode reference: The Simpsons, Season 4, episode 22.
Young, Dumb and Looking for Equal Treatment in the Workplace
So, you’ve paid, lied or hit a stroke of luck to get the first minimum-wage job of your
dreams, excuse me I mean needs. What’s next? For most students, and for that matter most
young adults working these low-paid service jobs, putting on your best fake smile and your
head down and just getting on with it. Not many of us are in these forms of employment for
fulfilment, and most are taking the first offer that came in their direction. Reasonable, but
now to allude to yet another famous satirical cartoon that seems to speak to most of us, South
Park. In season 19, the beloved young Kenny also has just gained his first minimum-wage job
in ‘The City Part of Town’, in a Chinese restaurant, City Wok owned by the frustrated and
desperate, Mr. Kim. In this episode, Mr. Kim hires a child labour force to cut out costs and
get his restaurant back on track. His loud reiteration of the words “child labour force!”
throughout the episode, yes make us laugh, but also remind a lot of us of our own first jobs,
in a round-about way. Funny, isn’t it?
Young people in employment are at a huge disadvantage due to their age. Whether it is their
first job or not, employers all too often assume that age equates with lack of experience and
therefore lack of experience in worker’s rights. Employers taking advantage of their younger
employees and trying to cut corners with them is certainly not unheard of, and perhaps
worryingly rampant in the service industry. Zero-hour contracts, extremely long and illegal
shifts, minimal or lack of breaks, inadequate health and safety procedures, inappropriate or
mis-management, verbal abuse, under-paying, lack of adequate time off as well as holidays
are but a few of the issues young employees are faced with. It is something most young
people experience in their early working lives. There have been a number of instances where
previous employers of mine have insisted on 12-hour shifts with inadequate breaks as well as
routinely under-paying and verbally abusing their younger members of staff. I have
encountered instances of other young people working six or seven days a week with
inadequate time-off, and countless violations of health and safety procedures. Although, you
couldn’t go as far as shouting “child labour force!” in the faces of these employers, it is no
coincidence that it is largely persons aged 16-24 experiencing these breaches in conduct.
Even part-time staff are more likely to be subjected to such treatment, given their more minor
role in the workplace.
To quote from South Park once again; “if there’s one asset that the Chinese man has, it’s the
tactical use of child labour”. Once you strip away the somewhat racist jokes, that is exactly
what employers are doing, tactically using a younger labour force with the knowledge that, in
most cases, they will not take a course of action against them or speak up about the
mistreatment they have endured. But why not? A research report on young people between
19 and 24 years of age carried out in 2013 by The Institute for Employment Studies revealed
that this is “due to a lack of confidence or knowledge, or due to a fear of jeopardising their
position in an organisation”. Young people quite often are not aware of their rights in the
workplace, and if they aren’t aware then the employer is free to breach these rights with the
knowledge that it will more than likely go unnoticed. Even when young employees do know
their rights, there is a large consensus that nothing will be done about it and their fragility in
workplace as well as the difficulty of obtaining a job in the first place is too great a risk to run
when there is such a high cost of living to keep up with, as well as student debts and
expenses. The fragility of the service industry worker, although more apparent in younger
employees, is a growing problem in our society.
The increase in temporary employment contracts as well as the growing popularity in zerohour contracts means the employee has fewer rights than those within a contract of set hours.
Zero-hour contracts are based on there being no required minimum hours weekly for an
employee as well as no maximum number of hours. A lot of young people and students enter
this contract based on the premise that “there’s always hours going” as stated by the
employer, meaning the hours may appear to be consistent and manageable at times. However,
there is the possibility of the hours largely increasing or there being zero hours for a short or
pro-longed period. Often employers use this contract as a form of safety net for the position
their offering, even if the occasion of there being zero hours to offer never arises.
Unfortunately, employers also use it to obtain temporary work from an employee without
having to advertise it as temporary work, given there is no restriction on how long an
employee within a zero-hour contract can be employed while not receiving any hours. Again,
to relate to my own personal experience, restricting an employee from hours can be used as a
form of punishment by employers or used as an attempt to force employees into leaving the
job by their own accord, usually as there is no grounds for dismissal.
Part-time workers, which is what a large portion of full-time and part-time students of all
ages, engage in, have less rights again. In fact, the Terms of Employment (Information) Act
1994 is deemed irrelevant for those in an 8-hour or under contract. Persons of this form of
contract are therefore excluded from a lot of worker’s rights under this act, this includes the
minimum notice period an employer is required to give to their employee.
Despite the various employment acts having a positive impact in protecting the rights of both
the employee and the employer, the issue at hand is in breach of this. The problems remain
unreported, unnoticed, and undealt with due to a lack of education in worker’s rights from an
early age as well as being enabled by the increasingly competitive job market that privileges
no one but those already privileged. Young people are not heard in our society in more ways
than one and it is reflected in the position they occupy in the working world.
Episode reference: South Park, season 19 episode 3.