Conventional wisdom says that when a person loses their employment, their well-being, sense of self, and psychological resilience take a hit, and continue to go downhill the longer they’re unemployed. But a newly-published, long-term study on the psychology of employment finds that it’s not as simple as that. As employment counselors can attest, different people react to job loss differently. Yes, there is a sharp drop in happiness and life satisfaction in the short term after the job loss. But the study found that, looking long term (for three years before the job loss and four years after), people can be grouped into four different categories regarding how they psychologically and emotionally respond to job loss.
The largest group, representing 69% of respondents, was actually quite emotionally and psychologically resilient, both before and after the job loss. This group had a stable sense of life satisfaction in the years leading up to unemployment, then a sharp drop when they were let go. But by a year later, “their average life satisfaction had returned to its pre-unemployment level.” This is not to say that unemployment is easy. It’s not, especially when a household depends on that income. Many people who are unemployed suffer from depression and anxiety. They’re stressed out by financial issues and feeling low about their ability to achieve, accomplish, and contribute.
But your job alone is not who you are. Therapists work with patients to address many aspects of their lives, be it family and friends, interests and activities, vocation, spiritual practice, or other meaningful pursuit. Satisfaction in all of these areas of life, plus physical health, are what make the ‘whole picture.’ If unemployment creates a financial burden that stresses the household, the stress and anxiety of finances will have a negative impact on day-to-day feelings. But that factor doesn’t negate the many other positive elements in the person’s life.
© Copyright 2010 by By John Smith, therapist in Bellingham, Washington. All Rights Reserved. Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org.
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