4.19. THE YOUNG AMBITIOUS WORKER A ambitious young worker of 20 years, after completing his basic studies, comments that he has heard his father say many times that he has "killed himself working since he was a young man" and this given his ulcers and heart problems, seems to be more than just a saying. The young worker is determined not to end up like his father. From our conversation with him, we can make the following points (somewhat disordered): His desired income is 5,000 € a year. Working hours: he supposes that he can find work, as he is health and has the enthusiasm to work. Salary per hour: with only basic studies he calculates 5€/hour. Real Income: this depends on the salary and the hours worked. He needs some hours of rest - as everyone does. For him rest is everything: sleeping, eating, reading etc. Health: he doesn't have any problems. Fatigue: Even though he is young, he is not a machine. It will depend on the hours he works. Spending: A the moment he lives with his parents (spending = 0). Bearing in mind his desired income (5000€) and the salary per hour (5€/hour), we calculate that he will need to work 1,000 hours a year (4 hours a day). Having seen the experience of his father, he knows that if he ends up working 12 hours a day his health will suffer. He hopes to marry and have children at 35, then he will need a larger income, maybe 20,000€/year. Before making a decision on his life, and to order his ideas, he asks us to make a simple model that will allow him to plan his future better Comments: o The model should include all his working life (from 20 to 65 years) o There are two aspects that worry him: health and income. He needs us to propose an alternative, not to guess his future. The elements that we believe are necessary can be incorporated into the model to propose alternatives. We will structure all the information received in the following causal diagram that has two zones: the economic zone and the health zone. The translation of the causal diagram to the flow diagram is necessary to be able to work on the computer and it is not an automatic process but a process that sometimes requires the creation of new elements called Flows. LINKS: Theory and Practical Exercises of System Dynamics System Dynamics Online Courses Building Models in Ecology Building models with Vensim Other resources in System Dynamics Boletín de Dinámica de Sistemas