Unemployed youth in South Africa: the distressed generation?

Abstract

After a long contemplation of the human condition, Freud nominated work and love as the two essential ingredients of a healthy and well-adjusted personality. Work has always been part of man's history and a crucial factor in social organization. The earliest prehistoric people sustained themselves by hunting and fishing. Cultures developed and a division of labor replaced an essentially nomadic life. Working activities such as hunting, fishing, herding, and trading occupied primarily the men. When social structures further developed they led to the evolution of distinct occupations such as farming and craftwork. This trend toward focusing on a specific group of tasks gave birth to the concept of career.