BAROMETR REGIONALNY ROK 2023 TOM 19 NR 2 Dignity in Gainful Employment: A Young Employee’s Perspective. A Pilot Study Hanna Mackiewicz, Edyta Spodarczyk, Katarzyna Szelągowska-Rudzka Gdynia Maritime University, Poland Abstract Each generation has its own experiences of paid work and its dignity. The aim of this article is to identify the opinions of representatives of generation Z on the tangible and intangible values related to dignity in paid work from the point of view of a young employee — a working student. This objective was achieved by literature review and a pilot study among a purposefully selected group of management students at the Faculty of Management and Quality Sciences of the Gdynia Maritime University. The study used an auditory survey as a data collection method. The respondents, who are representatives of Generation Z, look for more than just material values in work (a decent salary adequate to the hardship incurred). According to them, work is also a source of intangible values (personal development, mutual respect, meaning, work-life balance). Thanks to such a composition of values obtained through paid work, this work acquires the dimension of dignified work. Keywords: paid work, dignity in paid work, work ethics, Generation Z DOI: 10.56583/br.2263 Introduction Human work is a universal value 1 (Haarjärvi and Laari-Salmela 2022, 421; Winchenbach, Hanna, and Miller 2019, 1030) It is an inalienable condition of human existence and its meaning, deter- mining man’s status in society (Fontrodona and Melé 2022, 181; Mariański 2017; Wysocka 2011) Work has accompanied man since the beginning of civilization At first, it provided him with the possibility of survival, and when man began to learn to work, it became a purposeful activity related to his development (Orczyk 2007) It became paid (professional) work and a basic human need (Polańska 2007), through which man satisfies his other needs and aspirations, improves himself, and contributes to the development of organizations (Cierniak-Emerych 2012, 7–8) and society (Mariański 2017) Human labor is not a commodity (Liszcz 2016) 2 because “it cannot be freely produced and reproduced, nor can it be used like any other commodity” (Juchnowicz 1993, 4) Work is a human good (Polańska 1995), it shapes the quality of life (Wysocka 2011), determines man’s place in 1. Value is everything that is valuable (good in some respect) and is the goal of human endeavor: truth, good- ness, beauty, and holiness (based on: Podsiad 2000, 920–921; Sobol 2002, s.v. “wartość”). The strength of values consists in their building in a person the conviction of who they actually are, what they are (or are not) capable of, what reality they create around them, what is the core of their thoughts, motives and choices in their lives and work (Kowalczyk-Kroenke 2022, 247). 2. See also: Declaration concerning the aims and purposes of the International Labour Organisation, (Philadel- phia Declaration), International Labour Conference, Record of Proceedings, 26th Session, Philadelphia, (Montreal), pages 621–623, available at https://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/1944/44B09_10_e_f.pdf. E-mail addresses and ORCID digital identifiers of the authors Hanna Mackiewicz • e-mail: h.mackiewicz@wznj.umg.edu.pl • ORCID: 0000-0002-5091-7736 Edyta Spodarczyk • e-mail: e.spodarczyk@wznj.umg.edu.pl • ORCID: 0000-0001-5964-2049 Katarzyna Szelągowska-Rudzka • e-mail: k.szelagowska-rudzka@wznj.umg.edu.pl • ORCID: 0000-0002-8323-7251 Submitted: August 28, 2023 Accepted: November 6, 2023 Copyright © 2023 by Akademia Zamojska All Rights Reserved