Social adaptation of the younger and older generations of workers in modern Russia

A comparative analysis of the social adaptation of the younger and older generations of workers in modern Russia is undertaken based on the combined RLMS-HSE data set (1994–2019) and the primary data of two studies at a specific industrial enterprise. Intergenerational differences in the effectiveness of social adaptation of two generations of Russian workers during 2006–19 is studied. The younger generation includes workers born in 1985 and later. Their socialization was carried out mainly already in post-Soviet Russia, and the entry into working age took place in the 2000s. The older generation is formed by workers born no later than 1984. To assess the effectiveness of social adaptation of two generations of workers, indicators of satisfaction with work, material situation and life in general is used. The ways of market adjustment, that served as additional sources of income, are considered. Particular attention is paid to the dynamics of the social adaptation of workers in 2014–19, that is, against the background of a decrease in real money incomes of the population. During these years, along with the dynamics of the most important indicators of the social well-being of workers at a particular industrial enterprise in Omsk (the regional center of the Russian Federation), the dynamics of three active ways of their social adaptation (agricultural labor on a land plot, secondary employment, educational activity) are revealed. It has been found that intergenerational differences in the effectiveness of social adaptation of Russian workers are insignificant, and since 2013 there have been no statistically significant differences in job satisfaction and satisfaction with the material situation. In 2015-16 and in 2019, there were also no intergenerational differences in life satisfaction in general. The work shows that the social and economic situation in the country has a predominant impact on the social adaptation of the younger and older generations of workers. Important factors that determine the success of social adaptation are the living conditions at the place of residence (in a settlement of a certain type) and the general situation at the main job.

social adaptation, social well-being, job satisfaction, material satisfaction, satisfaction with life in general, agricultural labor on a land plot, secondary employment, educational activity, the younger generation, the older generation, workers, regional centers of the RF

1. Avraamova E. M., Loginov D. M. The Population’s Adaptation to the New Economic Reality. EKO, 2018: 2: 86–102 (in Russ.). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30680/ECO0131-7652-2018-6-86-102

2. Bessokirnaya G. P. Strategii vyzhivaniya rabochih [Survival strategies for workers]. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya, 2005: 9: 49–54 (in Russ.).

3. Bessokirnaya G. P. Social'noe samochuvstvie rabochih [Social well-being of workers]. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya, 2007: 3: 34–37 (in Russ.).

4. Bessokirnaya G. P. Dinamika social'nogo samochuvstviya rabochih v transformiruyushchejsya Rossii [Dynamics of workers’ social well-being in a transforming Russia]. Pitirim Sorokin i paradigmy global'nogo razvitiya XXI veka (k 125-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya): Mezhdunarodnaya nauchnaya konferenciya, Syktyvkar, 21−22 avgusta 2014 g.: sbornik nauchnyh trudov. Ed. by I. E. Fadeeva, V. A. Sulimov, L. V.  Gurlenova. Syktyvkar, SyktGU, 2014: 179–189 (in Russ.).

5. Bessokirnaya G. P., Temnickij A. L. Social'naya adaptaciya rabochih v transformiruyushchemsya obshchestve: osnovnye polozheniya programmy i nekotorye rezul'taty issledovanij [Social adaptation of workers in a transforming society: main provisions of the program and some research results]. Mir Rossii, 2000: 4: 103–124 (in Russ.).

6. Karavaj A. V. Changes in the strategies of social and economic adaptation of Russians in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Journal of Institutional Studies, 2020: 1: 144–159 (in Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.17835/2076-6297.2020.12.1.144-159

7. Karavaj A. V. Main patterns of socio-economic adaptation in different strata of Russian society. Terra Economicus, 2019: 3: 128–145 (in Russ.). DOI:https://doi.org/10.23683/2073-6606-2019-17-3-128-145

8. Karahanova T. M., Bessokirnaya G. P., Bol'shakova O. A. Regional centers as a spatial means of adaptation for urban workers in a changing society. Vestnik Omskogo universiteta. Ser. Ekonomika, 2019: 2: 168–184 (in Russ.). DOI:https://doi.org/10.25513/1812-3988.2019.17(2).168-184

9. Karahanova T. M., Bessokirnaya G. P., Bol'shakova O. A. Daily Behavior of Workers: Work, Housekeeping, Leisure [Electronic resource]. Moscow, Institut sociologii RAN. 2015: 100: 1 CD ROM (in Russ.).

10. Karahanova T. M., Bol'shakova O. A. General and specifics in the use of time resources in daily life by workers of different ages. Vestnik instituta sotziologii, 2017: 3(22): 98–136 (in Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/vis.2017.22.3.473

11. Kozyreva P. M. Social adaptation of Russia’s population in the post-Soviet period. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya, 2011: 6: 24–35 (in Russ.).

12. Kozyreva P. M., Nizamova A. E., Smirnov A. I. Resursy i praktiki social'no-ekonomicheskoj adaptacii naseleniya Rossii [Resources and practices of socio-economic adaptation of the population]. Moscow, Novyj hronograf. 2013: 328 (in Russ.).

13. Kozyreva P. M., Smirnov A. I. Life in uncertain conditions of a crisis society: experience and expectations. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya, 2018: 6: 66–78 (in Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.7868/S0132162518060065

14. Kozyreva P. M., Smirnov A. I. The peculiarities and tendencies of adapting Russians to the ever-changing conditions of the post-soviet period. Rossiya reformiruyushchayasya: Ezhegodnik [sbornik nauchnyh statej] / Ed. By M. K. Gorshkov; Institut sociologii RAN. Moscow, Novyj hronograf. 2016: 14: 133–171 (in Russ.).

15. Kozyreva P. M., Smirnov A. I. Social Guarantees and Benefits at the Workplace: Instability and Unpromising Dynamics. The Journal of Social Policy Studies. Accessed 12.04.2021.  URL:  https://jsps.hse.ru/article/view/11472 (in Russ.).

16. Latova N. M. Influence of the crisis on satisfaction of Russians with their lives and their social and psychological well-being. Rossiiskoe obschestvo i vyzovy vremeni. Kniga 3 / [Russian society and challenges of the time. Book 3] / M.K. Gorshkov [et al.]; Ed. by Gorshkov  M.K., Tikhonova N.E. Moscow, Ves Mir, 2016: 41–64 (in Russ.).

17. Loginov D. M. How the Russian population survived the crisis of the second half of the 2010s. Voprosy ekonomiki, 2020: 12: 41–61 (in Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2020-12-41-61

18. Loginov D. M. Social well-being of the Russian population during the acute phase of the epidemiological crisis. Monitoring obshchestvennogo mneniya: ekonomicheskie i social'nye peremeny, 2020: 6: 470–487 (in Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2020.6.1708

19. Povsednevnaya deyatel'nost' gorodskih zhitelej v gody reform: byudzhet vremeni, cennosti, tendencii (1986–2008) [Everyday activities of urban residents during the reform years: time budget, values, trends (1986–2008)] / Ed. By T. M. Karahanova. Moscow, Institut sociologii RAN, 2010: 344 (in Russ.).

20. Radaev V. V. Millennials compared to previous generations: an empirical analysis. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya, 2018: 3: 15–33 (in Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.7868/S0132162518030029

21. Tihonova N. E., Karavaj A. V. Resources of Russians in the crisis conditions: dynamics and role in adaptation to new conditions. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya, 2016: 10: 43–53 (in Russ.).