Objective Generation Y has to earn a living in a new world of work in changing labor markets. To date, little is known about the working lives of todays’ young adults and how early life factors impact their working lives. The aim of this study is to examine how educational and work factors cluster in young workers and to assess the impact of mental health problems from childhood to young adulthood on the work-life clusters.

Methods Longitudinal data of N=1235 participants of the Tracking Adolescents Individual Life Study (TRAILS), a prospective cohort study from age 11 to 26, was used. To examine the participants’ clusters regarding educational attainment, employment status, social benefits, type of contract, and working hours at age 26, latent class analysis was performed. Trajectories of mental health problems measured at ages 11, 13.5, 16, 19 and 26 were identified with latent class growth models. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between mental health and work-life clusters.

Results Five clusters were identified: 1) high educated fulltime workers (30.6%), 2) medium educated part-time and fulltime workers (21.6%), 3) students and medium educated workers with small jobs (26.0%), 4) fulltime students (15.7%), and 5) social benefit recipients (6.0%). Participants with high-stable trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems had an increased risk of receiving social benefits (OR 9.80, 95%CI 4.26–22.5 and OR 13.9, 95%CI 4.15–46.9, respectively).

Conclusion At age 26, five work-life clusters were identified, showing the diversity of the working lives of today’s young adults. The results of this study also show the long-term consequences of early mental health problems on the working lives of young adults. During the presentation, conceptual and analytical challenges will be discussed, for example: ‘When does employment begin’ and ‘How can we best capture the new world of work?’