A study of generations, choice of occupation and the possible influences it can have on an individual’s ecological behaviour in everyday life

Abstract: Environmental consciousness among the Swedish population has considerably increased over the last decade. However, to be concerned with environmental questions does not automatically lead to greater ecological awareness and behaviour in everyday life. It is, according to previous research findings, important to consider aspects of socialisation and the structural aspect of social life in order to understand the different individual expressions of ecological behaviour. De-emphasised importance of individual social backgrounds regarding an individual’s choices towards a more environmentally friendly lifestyle is therefore, according to several previous research findings, surprising. However, considering the major increased environmental consciousness among the Swedish population that has been shown, the objective of my master thesis was to analyse whether environment has become an area that engages all kinds of individuals, despite social backgrounds. Within the study, the two social factors that have been considered in most depth were generation and occupation. In order to get a deeper understanding of how people in Sweden view the individual responsibilities within the work towards a healthier environment, a literature study as well as an interview study was conducted. In the interview study, which was performed in Umeå, Sweden, interviews with scientists and day nurses born in the fifties and seventies were made. When considering the possible influences that generation and choice of occupation have on the individual’s choices towards a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, the result of my interview study did not indicate a direct relation between generation and occupation in one instance and rate of ecological behaviour in another. Instead individual differences among the scientists and day nurses from both considered generations were visible.