Implications of Unemployment for Managers/Professionals
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb054972 |
| Date | 01 March 1981 |
| Pages | 29-30 |
| Published date | 01 March 1981 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Unemployment in 1980 \ 29
Implications of Unemployment for
Managers/Professionals
It is always dangerous to make generalisations from one group of people to specific individuals,
because each person's circumstances and experiences are different. There is a danger of creating a
self-fulfilling prophesy rather than using the information to anticipate and cope more effectively with
the problems which may be encountered. However, taking this caution into account, the understan-
ding of hindsight provided by the men interviewed may be used to provide tentative guidelines for
those facing the same situation.
(1) It is important to understand your own emotional reactions. If a person is feeling shocked,
hurt, angry, bitter or resentful, this is likely to affect every other relevant aspect of his life
—
the way he looks for jobs, comes across at interviews, relationships with family and friends. If
such feelings are experienced, it is necessary to come to terms with them before important deci-
sions can be made rationally.
(2) What helps a person work through such feelings? A person may want and need to sit back and
recover from hurt or rejection. Or he may need to take up hectic activity
—
job hunting, legal
proceedings — in which case, the irrationality must be recognised. Perhaps most useful, par-
ticularly initially, is talking to other people who are in a position to understand and provide
moral support. This helps to come to terms with the reality of the situation. Most of the men in-
terviewed found it particularly useful to talk to someone who had had a similar experience, or a
professional counsellor who can bring an objective perspective to the situation. It is worth
noting that the harder this is to do, the more use it tends to be.
(3) The family, and particularly the wife, may or may not be the best person to talk to, depending
on the nature of the relationship, but it is important to keep them involved. A family cannot be
supportive if they are not put in a position where they can understand. However harsh it may
seem though, the onus may well be on the unemployed person to keep the morale of the family
high. The same is true of friends. However it is achieved, an effort must be made to avoid
sweeping problems under the carpet and to keep important relationships open and easy.
(4) Do you feel ashamed or not quite the respectable person you used to be? If
so,
it is important to
examine where these feelings come from. It seems that the much talked about "stigma" of
unemployment is more in the minds of the unemployed people and that most people will be sup-
portive and understanding of a person's position. If shame is justified, like other negative feel-
ings,
it must be come to terms with in the best way possible. More likely, it is not and then it
must be overcome. Shame, like anger, will affect the way a person looks for
jobs,
comes across
at interviews and relationships with family and friends.
(5) It is important to keep active in whatever way seems most appropriate and satisfying to the in-
dividual. An awareness of the importance of activity can prevent the decline into demoralisa-
tion. Maintaining activity may not be easy and is likely to be most difficult for those who were
previously in a job where their time was largely structured for them. A self-imposed routine or
task assigned by others can help maintain activity.
(6) It is useful to consider enjoyment in considering activities. This may sound strange and
sometimes produces feelings of guilt. However most people spend most of their adult lives
working and, given an enforced situation without work, it is constructive to consider whether
time can be used, at least in part, to gain pleasures and satisfactions which there are not usually
time for. The facility to do this depends on circumstances, particularly given the time-
consuming task of job hunting. However, the important factor is that enjoyment is not
deliberately avoided or ignored. Some satisfaction will help a positive self-projection in job in-
terviews.
(7) Job hunting needs to be done thoroughly, exploiting all potential resources, with systematic
records and follow-ups of applications submitted. It may well be an eight-hour-a-day job, at
To continue reading
Request your trial