Are young people less willing to work difficult or long-hour jobs at the start of their careers than previous generation?

The verdict here was comfortable rather than crushing: 34 of 52 voters agreed that today's entrants are less willing to grind through the long, difficult early years, a 30-point margin that still left a third of the chamber dissenting. That's a clear steer, but not the rout the framing of the question — young workers "prioritising work-life balance" — might have invited.

The real story is in the age breakdown, and it cuts against the stereotype the question sets up. The 16-24 cohort itself was only 60% yes on a small sample, and 25-34s were split almost down the middle, 11-10. It was the 35-44s who delivered total agreement, 8-0, with 45-64s not far behind at 75%. The verdict on "young people today" was delivered most emphatically by people no longer young themselves — while the 65+ group, old enough to remember the pre-flexible-working era firsthand, was tied 3-3.

That generational irony echoes a familiar pattern in British debates about work: every cohort tends to believe the one behind it had it easier, from apprenticeships to "grafting your way up." Women here were somewhat more convinced than men (73% versus 63%), though on modest numbers. The upshot is less a generational consensus than a generational argument about generations — with the accused barely more split than the jury.