The Emergence and Resolution Strategies for Delayed Employment in the VUCA Era：A Qualitative Investigation Based on Chinese College Graduates

In the VUCA era, characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, delayed employment among Chinese university graduates has emerged as a collective employment predicament, yet existing research tends to treat this phenomenon as homogeneous, overlooking its internal diversity and generative mechanisms. This qualitative study investigates the generative mechanisms of delayed employment through semi-structured interviews with 16 graduates. The findings reveal two distinct types: constrained involuntary delayed employment, driven by economic weakness, education–market decoupling, and unfulfilled plans; and voluntary deliberate delayed employment, shaped by policy buffers, perceived overqualification, career confusion, and family support. The study also identifies how institutional policies (e.g., fresh graduate status) paradoxically incentivize prolonged non-employment. Extending psychological and emotional compensation theories to the labor market domain, the findings call for stratified interventions: structural empowerment for the involuntarily delayed and guided, time-bound support for the voluntarily delayed. This research offers actionable insights for policymakers, universities, families, and career counselors.

Delayed employment; VUCA era; Chinese university graduates; Employment support

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