Obvious that they have a pretty good life even if

obvious that they have a pretty good life even if they do not have any salary, etc.? On the
other hand, can it be that they actually think that salary is important, but have realized
that it is not possible to receive a high salary in one’s fi rst employment?
The group that found work after leaving school, in addition to questions about
what they consider as important for attractive work, also answered questions about
how they assessed the same qualities in their current job. In general, they did not fi nd
dimensions to be ful fi lled, in accordance with what they indicated as important for an
attractive work. The differences were signi fi cant in 15 of the 22 dimensions, but in most
cases, however, the differences were smaller than what was reported in the study of 1440
professionals from different professions in Sweden (Hedlund et al., 2010).
The results indicate that there are development possibilities for raising work
attractiveness. The perception of current work should be closely related to opinions of
optimal work, in order to make a fi t between work characteristics and the individual
(Breaugh, 2008; Holcombe Ehrhart & Ziegert, 2005). The differences between current
and optimal work may result in lower job satisfaction, which raises the risk for turnover
(Holtom et al., 2006; Korunka et al., 2008). Important dimensions with large differ-
ences identify possible development areas for raising attractiveness. By discussing those
development opportunities, together with the work culture, management can increase
a sense of belongingness for employees (Gardner et al., 2009). This knowledge can be
used both in the recruitment process and to retain and engage employees. Working with

66 Young People’s Attitudes to Attractive Work Ing-Marie Andersson et al.
attractiveness must be an ongoing process for a company, especially with regard to
a young workforce, since when these workers become more experienced they will no
doubt have more alternatives for employment.
Methodological considerations
The adolescents included in this study cannot be considered a random sample of those
who have chosen a program at a vocational upper secondary school. The selection of the
schools where the pupils studied does, however, represent different size schools, different
combinations of training programs, as well as location in big cities and small towns. In
the baseline study, 225 pupils participated. Of these, the majority could be contacted
after leaving school, and 86 of these former pupils chose to participate in the follow-up
study. This number must be considered acceptable, since the aim is to study changes over
time, and no systematic shortfall can be seen regarding different branches. However,
the response rate was about 70% of the unemployed group, and 47% of the employed
group. A comparison of the 86, who took part in both the baseline study and the follow-
up study, and the other 139, who took part only in baseline study, indicates a signi fi cant
difference in the following four dimensions: physical work environment, loyalty, salary,
and status. The group of former pupils, who were not working 1 year after completing
their studies, was small, which in itself is encouraging, but obviously this is problematic