Assemblages of well-being and belonging in young adults’ life-historical narrations: experiences from education and the labour market

ABSTRACT

This article provides an empirical study of assemblages of well-being and belonging in the everyday lives of young adults. Using a discursive-narrative reading, I analyse how a sense of well-being and belonging emerge in the life assemblages of the research participants. The article is based on an ethnographically grounded longitudinal life-history study (2019 – ongoing) with six Finnish young adults. The analysis is based on the notion that all the interviewees seemed to have given up some education or work-related dreams they had in upper secondary school and that some of the assemblages they had previously viewed as suitable or desirable no longer seemed right. What emanated from the data were narrations about the search for a new situation in life in which the participants sensed well-being and belonging. The results of the data reading suggest that the overarching element of the assemblages is that they should enable the participants’ sense of well-being and belonging. This meant neither an individually governed success story nor a materialistically rich life for the participants but instead meant enabling a softer, more ‘my kind of’ everyday life that included important social relations and a suitable tempo and support at work.

KEYWORDS:

• Young adults
• life-history study
• belonging
• well-being
• assemblage

Acknowledgements

I would like to sincerely thank Dr Antti Paakkari and Dr Riikka Hohti, who shared with me such inspiring discussions during the planning phase of this article. I am also thankful for two anonymous reviewers and the participants of the Assemblage seminar 2023, Tampere University, and CELE research group, University of Turku, who provided encouraging feedback during the writing process.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

This work was supported by the Academy of Finland [grant number 303691].

Notes

1 This study was supported by the Academy of Finland, Strategic Research Council, No. 303691.

2 These interviews have dealt with the students’ educational paths from the beginning to the present and towards their future plans.

3 I am not able to reach four of the original participants anymore and, as a result of many attempts, have decided to give up contacting them. One possible reason for their withdrawal from the study may be that they have moved out of the country, and some have apparently changed their phone numbers. They may also have wanted to withdraw for some other personal reason.