Icarus and the fables for robots. Between searching for the meaning of life and burning from its excess

Abstract

This article is a case-study presentation of the results of research carried out as part of a master’s thesis. The aim of the thesis was to present preliminary categories of the achieved results. The target research group is people representing generation Z taking up work in the service and gastronomic sector, which by its specific nature is an easily attainable temporary earning place and thus often becomes the choice of people taking up their first job. At the same time, it is an environment riddled with all the characteristics of precarious employment. The consequences of such work–even casual work–can be felt for the rest of an individual’s life. Drawing on grounded theory, I seek to understand the social processes that shape the reality in which young precarious workers turn and the sources of the passions they experience. The Adam I describe seems to be standing at a crossroads in his life, experiencing many internal conflicts. This may be dictated by his young age and his entry into adulthood. However, the self-disciplinary mechanisms resonating in his responses, mixed with a lack of clear expectations of reality, draw to mind more a kind of anomic situation. The discomfort resulting from the internal conflicts in which the respondent functions leads him to behaviours that I would venture to describe as escapism into work and stimulants. Both of these options result in Adam leading a life that is rich in various successes, in spite of the pressure of overwhelming stimuli. Despite being effective and productive in his everyday life, these methods are not 100% effective. In recurring situations where he is left alone with his thoughts, he is troubled by internal conflicts. Trying to find solutions himself, he makes plans for an unspecified future: away from the people, on the periphery of the system.