Young, middle aged and even olderpeople usually engage in different activities during their lifetime. These activities are referred to as work. Work is defined differently by different people. The 21^st century colleagues and universities are producing graduates and releasing them to the world market. Different people have diverse reasons on why they work. This paper discusses the concept of work and examines unemployment and its impact on individuals and their families from a social, psychological and economical perspective.

The difference between two conceptions of work and how they intersect

The word work has two definitions. Firstly, work is defined as an activity linking mental or physical endeavor done in order to accomplish a purpose or result.  Secondly, work can be defined as such activity as a means of earning income, employment. The two definitions of work represent different perspectives that people have concerning work. In today’s world, people are engaged in different areas doing different things, and all have a purpose for doing such things. In the first definition, work is regarded as an activity where one suffers either physically or mentally in order to achieve his purpose. In the second definition, work is seen as a means of earning income. The two definitions intersect in that in both definitions, the worker intends to achieve something. For example, in the first definition, a farmer can be tired of working in the fields. His purpose is to ensure that the fields produce something. In the second definition of worker can be working in an iron company, here, he/she works to be paid by the company. All workers work in order to get desired outcome no matter where and how.

Personal understanding of the work

From a personal perspective, work is everything that is done in order to achieve a desired or profitable outcome, whether in one’s fields or in a company or in any other engagement that a person is involved. Anything that does not produce a profitable outcome cannot be termed as work. For example, writing novels and essays can betermed as work because, though one writes out of passion, his/her desire is to earn a living out of it(Ford, 2011). The novels sell and the essays are paid. What is paid is the profitable outcome. If a farmer works in the fields, his crops or animals give him/her some returns. If a person is employed somewhere, he/she is paid his wages/salary. In other words, work must produce something profitable to the worker. Work is ‘doing’ people still look for external results when defining the success of thework. In this 21^st century, many people work under harsh conditions. There have been many complaintsabout unfavorable working conditions that employees face, especially thoseemployed as casual workers in companies. Despite what they face, these workers see it not fit to quit their jobs. This is of the returns they get from working. Therefore, work is a job with a focus or money.

Job satisfaction

One thing I enjoy doing is running my family’s business during holidays. I am usually compelled to do business at the company since being a businessman is what I love doing. Running my father’s business as a supervisor has been useful to me not only in terms of knowledge expansion, exploration, but also, just like any other work, I usually get some returns in theform of a paycheck. Working also fosters pride in my work in that by doing work; I create something of value. It alsoinspires me to get out of bed in the morning, having a positive outlook and most importantly, it gives me something to focus on besides the paycheck. Intellectually, running a business boosts my knowledge about business, and I also explore more in the business world. I have also achieved a sense of fulfillment since I achieve a healthy balanced lifestyle and keep stress levels in check. Most importantly, what satisfies me about my job is the flexibility.

An examination of unemployment and what it means socially, psychologically, and economically for individuals and their families

Social

The state of unemployment or joblessness is experienced when people are without work or are actively seeking work. Here, work is explained in the perspective of an occupation or activity to earn income. Though many view unemployment as an economic problem, when people do not work, this affects individuals and their families socially. Joblessness is determined as a percentage of the total population or social group. Empirical evidence shows that unemployment causes a lot of detrimental social and personal conditions. The unemployed individuals and their families experience poverty and financial hardship. These individuals live their lives below the accepted standards. Their children lack food and even do not have the ability to attend educational institutions(Lindner & Elizabeth, 2013). They experience debt and experience homelessness and housing stress. Unemployment breaks down families, leads to family tensions, boredom and alienation. Due to their state of living, unemployed individuals and their families face shame and stigma. Unemployment causes increased social isolation since the unemployed are regarded not fit for social gatherings(Gallie, Paugam, & Jacobs, 2003). Today, the crime rate has increased. If those involved were employed or were engaged in some types of activities, they would not have time to cause destruction and harm to people. When an individual is working, he/she spends more time in his/her work. Unemployment has led to crimes. People have lost their self-esteem, and their confidence eroded. Unemployment also causes ill-health and atrophying work skills.

Many unemployed people report that their unemployed status is among the most horrible things that have ever happened to them. When compared to families who have an employed parent, many mothers in families where all parents are unemployed experienceserious hardship problems, health problems of their young children, a lot of disagreements and domestic conflicts as well as housing and financial problems. An example of the evidence that unemployment leads to poor child’s education, one of my family friends lost her job. Before, he was a caring and loving single mother. After losing a job, her children began staying home due to lack of school fees. He could not afford their education anymore. Though they were transferred to public schools, they could also not afford to learn because of hunger and other basic needs. The children were affected both behaviorally and psychologically. They became beggars on the street until they were rescued by the county government chairman who took care of them and adopted them. I therefore understoodthat when somebody loses his/her work, children and the entire family suffers(Lindner & Elizabeth, 2013). Most importantly, I understand that a work means an activity of earning an income.

Unemployment is not only distressing to children’s lives, but also pose long-term consequences to their employment, education and social future. They also end up unemployment as their parents or engage themselves in unskilled labor. In addition, family stress, which arises from unemployment and poverty is associated with behavioral problems of children (Lindner & Elizabeth, 2013). Today, unemployment is contributing to the alienation of many teenagers and other young adults. In addition the wives of unemployed men also have high rates of joblessness compared to the wives of employed men. Unemployment also causes social division.It contributes to divisions based on where people live.

Another way in which unemployment affects individuals and their families socially is that long-term unemployment amongst older people leads to rebirth in aged poverty (Lindner & Elizabeth, 2013). Elevated rates of long-term lack of employment as well as low levels of labor force participation of older men prevents the possibility for significant accumulation of assets, for example, they are unable to payoff the family house before they retire. There is a relationship between unemployment and lack of health services. Many unemployment individuals die from diseases such as influenza, diabetes, bronchitis and pneumonia. Also, unemployment has been associated with some forms of mental illness such as depression. Unemployment creates a lot of serious social problems to both the individuals and their families.

Psychological

Evidently, the today’s economy is a big stressor to the people of the United States. More than 78% of Americans regard money as an important source of stress.Unfortunately, unemployed people experience more stress than the employed ones and suffer from psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, poor self-esteem, psychosomatic symptoms and lower subjective well-being. Unemployment affects communities and families. Research shows that the unemployment can lead to the decline of family and individual well-being. The unemployment burden also affects the outcome of children(Lelkes, 2010). The depressive and stress symptoms associated with unemployment affects parenting practices such as arbitrary punishment and increasing punitive. Therefore, children report more depressive and stress symptoms. Depression in children and young people is associated with multiple negative results such as substance abuse, academic problems, physical health problems, high-risk sexual behavior,amplified risk of suicide and prejudiced social relationships.

Unemployment contributes to reduced life expectancy. For example, the unemployed, due to hardship problems, indulge in alcohol in order to relieve stress. Their health slowly deteriorates and finally faces death. The stress they experience can also lead to declined well-being of spouses. Due to financial loss, the unemployed individuals experience irritability, tantrums and negative attitude towards children (Lelkes, 2010). They become tensed and explosive. As a result, children develop moodiness, and hypersensitivity as well as low aspirations of future life.With respect to single mothers who are unemployed, they develop unending hatred towards their teenage children and therefore end up punishing them. In addition, unemployment influences decisions about divorce and marriage. The unemployment is less likely to marry and more likely to divorce.

Unemployment has economic consequences for people. It directly impacts family resources via lost incomes which accumulate quickly if there is a long time of unemployment. For example, during the great recession, incomes of families went below 40% for most unemployed workers. From the year 2011, the long-term unemployed individuals have increased and therefore continue to experience high rates of poverty (Lelkes, 2010). Families of unemployed people have a consumption rate of less than 16%. Also, unemployed people borrow money from their neighbors and friends, have missed rent payments and mortgages as well as spent down savings. They experience a poor financial situation, and others are bankrupt. Unemployment has led to declining social and human capital. Most unemployed workers have declining expectations. Due to financial hardships and poverty, these people become less productive and,therefore, human or social capital declines. Hungry people cannot work for a long time. There is,therefore, decrease in productivity. Unemployed people impact the future labor market attachment (Galie, Paugan& Jacobs, 2003). This is because; due to losing of hope of ever being employed, they leave the labor force and retire. Thereafter, they enroll in disability programs or else become ‘discouraged workers as their unemployment state progresses. Once a person is regarded as disabled, there is no likelihood of him/her returning to work. Higher rate of redundancy leads to an addition to the number of applicants to the social security disability insurance program (Lelkes, 2010).

The economic loss to the people and their families cannot be understated. Unemployment reduces an individual’s income and thereafter reduces his/her ability to save for retirement and other purposes. This is because his/her superannuation contributions vanished and the capabilityto save from disposable returns is decreased. For example, there was a neighbor family whose father was a supervisor at Proctor & GambleCompany in America. He lost his job unexpectedly due to missing cash in the company. Since they were a close family, I observed how they experienced economic stress. After the saved incomegot finished, they faced difficulties in finding money to pay utility accounts. Home maintenance was also a challenge since there were no spare funds for painting, parts replacement and general up-keep. Broken water pipes remained in their state since the utility account was expired and they were not allowed to pay in installments. Money for food and basic living costs was also a problem. The problems that this family went through made me understand that the longer a person is out of work, the greater the level of compounding debt. Unemployment affects the economic stability of a family which affects the financial mobility of other generations.

When an individual loses a job, the standard of living is affected. People consume less than usual. They drain retirement savings and end up with nothing. Prolonged unemployment leads to skills erosion. This robs the economy of useful talents and knowledge. Unemployment alters how people plan for their future. Prolonged unemployment leads to pessimism and skepticism about the value of training and education. The absence of unemployment forces families to ignore educational opportunities to their children as well as deprive the economy of future skills. Individually, prolonged unemployment harms workers’ mental health and thereafter can worsen physical health and lead to short lifespans (Lelkes, 2010).

Conclusion

In the 21^st century, people work in order to earn a livelihood. Without work, people experience poverty, hardships, financial problems and other difficulties. Though people have different meanings of work, work without income cannot be considered as work. Based on job satisfaction, some people work in jobs that they love and have a passion for. Others work under strict rules and face mistreatment from their employers. Contrary to all, they still bear harsh conditions in order to earn an income. Lack of work causes unemployment, which affects individuals and families socially, economically and psychologically. Unemployment leads to crime rates, poverty, financial hardships, low-living standards, unpaid houserents, borrowing, psychologically related illnesses such as depression as well as mental illness. Unemployment also lowers the consumption rate of families and renders them economically unstable.

References

Lindner, S.& Elizabeth, P. (2013). “How Does Unemployment Affect Family Arrangements for Children?” Unpublished manuscript. Microsoft Word file.

Gallie, D.,Paugam, S.,& Jacobs, S. (2003). Unemployment, Poverty and Social Isolation: Is there a vicious circle of social exclusion?European Societies, 5(1): 1-32.

Lelkes, O. (2010). Social Participation and Social Isolation. In: Atkinson, A.B. and Marlier, E. (Eds.). Income and living conditions in Europe. Eurostat Statistical books: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union: 217-240.

Ford, R. (2011). Richard Ford on the Meaning of Work. SPEAKEASY: The Wall Street Journal.http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/04/18/richard-ford-on-the-meaning-of-work/

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