In this paper we offer a short introduction to Elias's 'lost' research project, undertaken while he was at Leicester in the early 1960s, on The Adjustment of Young Workers to Work Situations and Adult Roles. Through archive research, and the discovery of lost interview schedules, we have pieced together the background to the project and Elias's theoretical position about youth. We outline part of his theoretical model focusing on his shock hypothesis and the separation of children from the world of adults.
Keywords: Norbert Elias, Adjustment to Work, Shock Hypothesis, Young Worker Project