Os sentidos e significados do trabalho para jovens da geração Z: uma análise qualitativa com egressos do curso de Administração da UFJF-GV

Abstract

This article investigates the expectations, experiences, and perceptions of Generation Z youth who graduated in Administration from UFJF-GV regarding the meanings and significance of work, through a qualitative approach. The aim is to analyze and understand what work represents for these young individuals in contemporary times and to identify the characteristics they attribute to it. The research was conducted with eight graduates of the Administration program, using structured interviews and Sérgio Freire's discourse analysis as the method for data interpretation. The results indicate that the meanings attributed to work by these young people are diverse and heterogeneous, revealing it as a symbolic and social practice permeated by affective, ethical, and economic dimensions. The study presents work as a space of subjective construction, a field of contradictions, and a territory of symbolic disputes. It concludes that, beyond its productive and economic functions, work emerges as a place of belonging, maturation, ennoblement, and self-knowledge.