The Generation Effect: Millennials, Employment Precarity and the 21st Century Workplace

The Generation Effect shows that employment precarity is penalizing a generation. Precarious employment has become an unwanted, unnecessary and not-by-choice, new reality of our workforce and economy. Despite the recent changes to Ontario employment regulations, most legislation remains outdated and provides for a workforce and economy that no longer exists. Our social support systems are outdated and currently unable to support the growing ranks of the working poor and people living in poverty. The continued adherence to neoliberalism, an economic philosophy and ideology that has made it easy for corporations to trade and enhance their profits and, at the same time, eliminate full-time permanent jobs, has made life more difficult for millennial workers. The Generation Effect provides a snapshot of the lives of Hamilton-area millennials working in a labour market that differs significantly from that of their parents. It is a starting point for a long overdue conversation about the current nature and structure of work, its impact on millennial workers and their families, our communities and society at large. --From authors' summary