“To know that someone is there makes you feel safer.” Qualitative insights into work values and expectations of young Faroese employees

The workforce in the Faroe Islands is diminishing, and many young people go abroad to study and work. In general, the younger generations are more dissatisfied with their jobs, less loyal to their workplaces, and have more multi-directional career patterns. This increases demands on Faroese employers to create jobs that can attract and retain young people in the workforce. The working environment is one known factor that significantly impacts people’s career development, well-being, and overall life satisfaction. There is only limited research about young Faroese employees’ working environment, work values, and expectations. Therefore, we aimed to identify key work values and expectations that contribute to a supportive working environment for young employees in the Faroe Islands. We conducted six focus groups and three individual interviews with 22 people aged 19–39. In our thematic analysis, we identified three main themes: 1. Relying on colleagues, 2. Feeling safe, and 3. Collaborative leadership. Study participants consistently emphasized intrinsic and social work values over extrinsic and status work values, highlighting the importance of feeling safe at work. When paired with clear, accessible leadership and supportive managers, these factors emerge as essential components of a healthy and positive work environment for young employees.