"The Anguish of Unemployment"

I spent some time yesterday researching the various impacts of unemployment. In particular, I found three recent studies very compelling…a Rutgers University study entitled the "Anguish of Unemployment", a NY Times/CBS News poll, and a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management Survey (SHRM) all completed between September and December of 2009.

Some of the findings were not news…15 million Americans are currently unemployed, a quarter (or close to 4 million) of them have lost their homes or are likely to lose it to foreclosure soon. Other details shed some light on the actual experience of being laid-off. The Rutgers study found that 60% received no advanced warning of their layoff, 84% received no severance or other compensation. The NY Times poll found nearly half reported no health insurance, over 40% have moved or considered moving to another part of the state or country to find work.

Other findings went deeper. In the NY Times poll, 55% of the unemployed suffer from insomnia, depression, feelings of embarrassment and shame, a loss of self-worth and self-esteem, almost half reported more conflicts and arguments with family members and friends. More than half (approx 7.5 million people) have borrowed money from friends or relatives and the same have cut back on or eliminated seeking basic health care due to the cost.

Even more frightening to me is that 40% said they noticed behavioral changes in their children that they attributed to their difficulties finding work. The lack of money, strain on marriages, fear, doubt and anxiety seems to be rolling down to our children!

And for those still employed, in addition to enduring one (sometimes several) rounds of lay-offs; these workers are experiencing heavier work-loads for extended periods, about 30% have had their pay cut or salary frozen, reductions in work hours, furloughs, reduced retirement and health benefits.

The long-treasured belief that if we work hard and are loyal, we will be rewarded and enjoy some semblance of security has been all but shattered today. One Rutgers professor of public policy relates the psychological impact of this recession to that of the Great Depression… “It’s a life-changing experience for people”. He suggests that long-term unemployment may lead to higher divorce rates…which is consistent with the stats above. The professor warns of a “silent mental health epidemic”. Because of the shame, feeling of lack of control and belief that somehow being laid-off was their fault, the unemployed are reluctant to talk about what they are going through.

So, what’s the future looking like and what is being done to prepare for it? The SHRM study found that organizations know their top talent are ready to leave and are just waiting for more confidence in the economy. Companies anticipate this huge increase in turnover and are already facing a crisis in employee satisfaction. In addition to reinstating some reduced or eliminated benefits, the most likely actions they’ll take as the economy recovers include:
• engaging in more transparent communication about the status of the organization,
• cutting HR related technologies (applicant tracking/payroll systems),
• retraining employees,
• increasing recruitments efforts,
• stopping business growth,
• engaging in volunteer and philanthropic activities, and
• outsourcing certain business areas.

Only two of these approaches (better communication and retraining) even remotely address the issues faced by their current and future employees. What about focused efforts to streamline and improve work processes, studying what (if anything) employees find meaningful about their work, trying to understand what would help satisfy and engage them, and dare I say it: how to rebuild the lost loyalty and trust?

There certainly seems to be a significant and growing gap between the number of urgent needs of people (employed or not) and meaningful answers to address those needs. It is becoming clearer how True Compass might be able to fill some of the gaps for the unemployed, underemployed and business world in general.

So, what are churches and other faith-based organizations doing now and in the near future to help meet these needs? This is where the real power of faith comes in. Being able to share with people that, despite their circumstances, there is a God that “knows the plans He has for them, plans to prosper them and to give them a hope and a future”. And that the only real security in this life comes from a relationship with the one who created us.