Perspectives Of Young Professionals Research Articles

Trust at work – described by young professionals in the early stages of their careers

PurposeThis case study explores trust at work, described by young professionals in the early stages of their careers. In this article, trust is approached as the study participants' experiences of interpersonal trust. More specifically, it refers to relationships between colleagues, among individuals or at group level (Ma et al., 2019). Supervisors or managers did not take part in this study. The research question was “What do young professionals tell about trust and its importance at work?”Design/methodology/approachThe empirical study consists of qualitative data, focus group (5) interviews (n = 20) of young professionals who are in the early stages of their careers (1–3 years after graduation). The study is contextualized in Finland, in Helsinki metropolitan area, in three social and healthcare workplaces and two information technology (IT) organizations. Both public and private sectors are represented. The data were analysed by theory-based content analysis.FindingsAccording to the study results, descriptions of trust and its importance at work can be placed in three main categories. First, trust is an important element in improving young professionals' adaptation into the working community. Second, trust strengthens young professionals' professionalism and professional development at work. Third, trust at work highlights ethical issues and their significance in workplace relationships. Practical implications and limitations are also discussed.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the nature of this study, the research results should be viewed critically. The results can be seen as one suggestion to structure and increase understanding of trust in working life, from the perspective of young professionals in the early stages of their careers. As all research, the studies included in this review had several limitations that need to be taken into account. First, one of them is the size of the data, also in this study. Second, although literature has been searched carefully, there is always a chance of better literature existing for discussion on trust at work from young professionals' points of view, even though there is not a lot available on this specific topic. Nonetheless, literature of this study includes the most relevant classics of trust research. Third, the method has its own limits because it is based on focus group interviews, not interviews of individuals. On the other hand, it offered time for the team to reflect on trust in their own team. Still, this study offers one option for discussion of trust in work relationships. Additionally, it was noteworthy that the subjects were at the beginning of their careers, joining a new working community. They were in the early stages of building a professional identity, seeking confirmation of their skills and position in the working community. Thus, we recognize that this may have contributed to the collection of research data, which was a focus group interview. Few participants in the interview wanted to strongly point out the factors related to distrust, even if they had appeared at work. The authors recognize that exploring trust requires trust and acknowledge it. Data have been collected before the COVID-19 pandemic (see, e.g. van Zoonen et al., 2021).Practical implicationsThis study implies that trust at work should focus on discussing young professionals' thoughts, expectations, feelings and experiences of trust at work as part of transitioning from graduation into working life or in early stages of their careers. Trust should not only be discussed in dyadic discussions between young professionals and supervisors but also as part of team discussions. The authors’ suggestion is that trust should be in the core of team discussions, not just as part of teams' social and emotional dimensions of their functionality and capacity. Courage and skills to take part in such discussions is needed from all parties. Especially leaders have to have the ability to create a trusting environment to talk about trust. In particular, the importance of peers in trust and their importance at work should be taken into account. By understanding young professionals’ point of view, we can prevent job changes or dissatisfaction at work too. The purpose of this study was to contribute to this line of research on trust at work. The trust resource contributes to and promotes the realization of participation in working life.Social implicationsThe trust resource contributes to and promotes the realization of participation in working life. Leaders and coworkers can learn about trust as a phenomenon, while developing more emotionally sustainable working environments for young professionals. Trust should be seen as a skill or competence to improve various positive functional dimensions at work.Originality/value The results demonstrate that it is crucial to ensure emotional sustainability at work, and a positive feeling of belonging at work supports young professionals by developing a trusting work environment. It strengthens their engagement in a new work.

Correction: COVID-19 and Its Potential for Disruption and Transformation in Public Health: Lessons Learned from the Perspective of Young Professionals

Correction: COVID-19 and Its Potential for Disruption and Transformation in Public Health: Lessons Learned from the Perspective of Young Professionals

COVID-19 and Its Potential for Disruption and Transformation in Public Health: Lessons Learned from the Perspective of Young Professionals

The COVID-19 pandemic has both exposed and intensified various challenges for Public Health and the Public Health service (ÖGD) in Germany. However, it also offers a window of opportunity for effective long-term transformation of the country's Public Health system. Against this backdrop, an online survey was carried out among the members of the German Network of Young Professionals in Public Health (Nachwuchsnetzwerk Öffentliche Gesundheit (NÖG)) in October and November 2020. It sought to elicit members' experiences and views related to Public Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting preliminary "lessons learned" for the German Public Health context are presented in this article. Based on the results of the survey, recommendations were formulated which are intended to provide targeted and concrete advice for the strengthening and transformation of Public Health in Germany. The main issues that preoccupied the young professionals were the increased public and political attention to Public Health and the narrow focus on infectious disease control, the standing of Public Health in Germany and the strengths and weaknesses of Public Health structures and workforce. The recommendations are aimed at promoting long-term and holistic strengthening of Public Health, with the training of an interdisciplinary workforce of young professionals presenting a key focus.

Public Health in Germany From The Perspective of Young Professionals

The current reform process of Germany's public health system has opened a window of opportunity for strengthening this field in research, policy and practice in Germany. The present article discusses challenges and necessary measures from the perspective of young professionals. The authors argue that public health education and training in Germany needs to be strengthened and reformed. Moreover, Germany's public health community must create and strengthen structures and processes needed to make its voice heard more strongly in politics and society, including an effective professional organization. Discussions on these challenges have begun in a number of fora and should be translated into concrete actions soon.

Entrepreneurship leading a change in Europe: a perspective of young professionals

Abstract: The following paper tackles the issue of how the needed changes in Europe can be initiated. The authors stipulate that entrepreneurship can make this change and start a revolution in Europe. By empowering young people to realize their ideas, social goals can be also executed through business. A perspective of two young professionals is presented as an example of influence that entrepreneurial activities can have on networks. The paper does not aim at summarizing academic work but at providing new perspective and topic related cases. The article investigates current situation in Europe. Europe is facing at present high unemployment rates among young professionals, growing dissatisfaction with European Union and division between parallel societies that live next to each other but not with each other. In the first chapter it is described what does entrepreneurship mean originally and how it could be perceived in today's world. In the second chapter it is briefly conveyed what kind of positive impact entrepreneurship can have on the networks. In the third chapter the experiences of two young professionals prove how entrepreneurial activities can change a person, the surrounding or even the whole network.

How to develop student-centred management cases

Case studies are very popular in management education. Many case studies, however, are written at a level that is beyond the understanding of their target audience and therefore fail to do what they are intended for. The present study examines common pitfalls of case studies and presents a framework for the development of student-centred cases, together with examples from cases that were developed from the perspective of young professionals.