Self-esteem risk for jobless

Press, 24 July 1986, Page 3

Self-esteem risk for jobless

PA Wellington Trainees on work skills development programmes are much less likely than the unemployed to suffer mental illness, according to a report in the latest “Labour and Employment Gazette.” ~ Mr Mark Barrett, an advisory officer in the Labour Department’s employment policy division, says there is a growing body of research showing the alarming social and psychological consequences of unemployment.

One American study had found that a 1 per cent rise in unemployment was linked to a 2 per cent rise in the death rate, a 4 per cent rise in suicides, a 6 per cent rise in murders, and a 3 per cent rise in first admissions to psychiatric hospitals.

The psychological illeffects of unemployment include depression, a decline in mental health, and a loss of self-esteem. Mr Barrett found, in his study of trainees on a scheme last year, that most reported increased self-esteem, increased social skills, more satisfaction in their lives. "Research evidence suggests that many unemployed people have great difficulty coping with the

large amount of free time they have. It is possible that this lack of structure to their day is one of the factors that contributes to depression and loss of self-esteem in unemployed.” Most trainees believed that the time structure provided had been a positive aspect of the programme. Most identified increased social contact as a benefit

Many unemployed people became isolated and lonely, as work formed an important source of social contact for most people.

Mr Barrett said it was Important the structure, routine, and social contact were borne in mind when designing employment programmes. The success of training and employment programmes depended to a large degree on how effectively they helped to overcome the depression and loss of self-esteem experienced by many unemployed people.