Unemployment​—Still a World Problem

UNEMPLOYMENT involves more than simply being out of work. “Gradually you lose your self-respect, your sense of identity, and contact with the outside world,” was the reaction of a former teacher. Said another idle worker: “I feel like I am dead inside.” Some who have been laid off have become so desperate that they have threatened to kill job counselors.

The complexity of the problem is becoming more apparent, however, as the number of jobless people increases around the world. “More than 500 million people are out of work or under-employed in the Third World, according to the International Labor Organization,” reported The Toronto Star. “Another 50 million are out of work in Europe and North America,” it added, indicating the scope of the situation. Canada doled out $6.8 billion in unemployment-insurance benefits in a ten-month period, about 72 percent higher than in the same period of the previous year. And Canada’s jobless figure recently rose to 13.5 percent, up from a previous 11.2 percent.

Though the rate of unemployment in the United States has dropped to 8 percent in 1984, some states have suffered rates as high as 14.9 percent.

“For more than 10 million Americans who desperately need and want jobs, recovery is not even in sight,” says labor union president Lane Kirkland in U.S.News & World Report.

Job prospects in Britain are dim too. A report by the Cambridge Economic Group sees unemployment rising to more than four million by the end of the decade.

In eight countries of Europe and in Japan, there are more unemployed than there were last year, notes The Economist of February 18, 1984. This winter the Federal Republic of Germany had its highest unemployment figures in its postwar history.

In Yugoslavia “up to 15 percent of the nation’s workers​—about 900,000 people—​are jobless, with the unemployed ranks still swelling,” says U.S.News & World Report.

One out of five workers in Ivory Coast is out of a job, estimates Time magazine.

The Consequences

Many people do not appreciate the psychological, physical and social consequences to the unemployed and their families, or how bleak work prospects add to the frustrations of those out of work. Being without a job “can have devastating effects on employees and their families,” said one report on unemployment. It explained: “Loss of self respect, insomnia, strained family relations, domestic violence, depression, alcohol abuse and even suicide are well documented reactions to job loss.” Newspaper headlines claim: “Suicide, crime are linked to unemployment.”

Some challenge the “suicide-economy link,” but researchers in the United States point to a 13-percent increase in suicides during a three-month period in the United States when the “corresponding increase in the unemployment rate was 28 per cent.” According to their analysis, “a 1 percentage point increase in the annual unemployment rate leads to 320 additional suicides for men per year.”

The negative psychological effects are serious. “Unemployment is a killer,” said another headline. Its article told of rising cardiovascular disease and an increase in homicides. A medical doctor and journalist, Hugh Drummond, called unemployment “one of the greatest health menaces ever.” A minister stated: “I have buried men who I believe died from unemployment.”

If you are out of a job, can you do anything to cope with the ravages of unemployment? Are there ways to manage until you are hired again? Are there ways to make work or find other work to do? What can be done about your frame of mind, so essential to maintaining balance?

[Chart on page 3]

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

Australia․․․․․ 9.5% Belgium․․․․․․ 14.8%

Canada․․․․․․․ 11.2% France․․․․․․․․ 9.8%

Fed. Rep. of Holland․․․․․․ 17.8%

Germany․․․․․․․ 8.8% Japan․․․․․․․․․ 2.6%

Italy․․․․․․․․ 12.6% Switzerland․․․ 1.0%

Sweden․․․․․․․․ 3.7% U.S.A.․․․․․․․․ 8.0%

U.K.․․․․․․․․․ 12.5%

(Source: The Economist, February 18, 1984)

How to Cope With Unemployment

YOU TWINGE at the cutting words: ‘I’m sorry, we are going to have to lay you off.’ Then a sense of desperation sets in. Fears about the future grip you. Bleak work prospects only add to the already overwhelming feelings of helplessness and frustration. Facing each new day becomes a nightmare. An unrelenting sense of shame hovers like a dark cloud.

For a growing segment of the population, the prospect of facing such a situation is very real. For many others it is already a hard fact. It cuts across all races, ages and economic levels without mercy, affecting increasing numbers who never before thought they would be involuntarily jobless. The consequences can leave lasting marks on individuals and families long after the job problem has been solved. Can anything be done to cope?

Your Frame of Mind

First of all, you need to maintain a positive outlook. If potential employers note your negative disposition, they may mark you as a loser and wrongly conclude that you are unsuitable for employment. So do not overreact or let yourself be overwhelmed. It is not the end of the road. Take comfort from the fact that your joblessness is not unique. Of course, losing your job can be one of life’s most traumatic experiences. But if you are still alive and have some assets, all is not lost.

You can fight fear and anxiety. They cause negative feelings that gnaw away at your self-confidence. Be aware of the pitfall of self-blame. (‘Something must be wrong with me! I’m useless! Why is he working and I’m not?’) Resist the urge to blame others. (‘The boss never did like me!’) Do not view your unemployment as a permanent roadblock, but as one that can be removed even if it will take time.

Some who are unemployed withdraw from family and friends. Don’t be afraid instead to ask for help. Do not hide. If your children are old enough to understand and help, inform them. Seek their cooperation. Talk with others about your feelings, your thoughts and your fears. No one will know what you’re going through unless you talk about it. Welcome the emotional support of people who care about you. An ancient maxim observes: “A true companion is loving all the time, and is a brother that is born for when there is distress.” (Proverbs 17:17) If you are a family member or a friend of someone unemployed, are you proving to be such a “true companion” by being empathetic and supportive? Family and friends can help you to overcome the distressful shock of unemployment.

Practical Suggestions

When bills arrive don’t ignore them and pretend the problem will go away. How would you feel if someone who owed you money was evasive and kept you in the dark as to the reason why he was not paying the debt on time? You reap benefits from applying this good counsel: “Always treat others as you would like them to treat you.” (Matthew 7:12, The New English Bible) Therefore, if you cannot pay your bills, talk to your creditors. If you will only communicate with them, they are often willing to work out an alternate repayment plan until you find a regular job again.

Next, take a realistic look at your situation. Start working out plans to use your assets. And, indeed, you have at least one valuable asset​—job experience. With that you can start looking for another job.

But first check out what the former job owes you. Do you have severance pay coming? Did you have job insurance? Is unemployment assistance available? Are there other government provisions? Make sure you are aware of all of them. Apply for these if you qualify. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for such aid when you truly need it. For example, is it embarrassing to ask for medical attention when you are injured or not well? Besides, it is likely that such funds exist because of taxes that you and others have paid. So view it as an insurance benefit. What other areas are there to work on?

Eliminate unnecessary expenses: Now, jobless or not, take a look around you and see what must be done to lower or even eliminate costs. This might call for an adjustment in your life-style, but you must realistically deal with the emergency. Here are some suggestions. Try to cut down heating or air-conditioning bills if possible. In some homes this may be done simply by changing the thermostat a few degrees. Also, consider alternate fuels that may be cheaper than your present one.

Some people spend up to $400 per year on cigarettes, $500 a year on alcoholic beverages and $1,500 a year on eating in restaurants. There is much they could do about these costs to help make ends meet!

Families might consider how many TV sets they have. Is it necessary to have more than one on at the same time? Or will not one set do for the family? Many even live without one! How many telephones do you have? Will one suffice? How many cars do you have? What about luxury items? The snowmobile? The trailer? Other recreational equipment? These all create expenses for fuel, repairs and insurance. In addition to reducing costs, the sale of these and other surplus items can restore something to your income.

Food Saving: Families can pool together and make purchases of large quantities of basic foods at wholesale prices and then divide the food among themselves. Look for specials at sales. Buy ‘in season’ and freeze, can or preserve the food. Some buy all their fruit, vegetables, meats and poultry direct from a farmer at great savings. Even more can be saved when you pick your own at some farms. This can also make for a healthy outing for the family. Some farmers are willing to let you glean what is left over after the harvest​—at no charge! Check out this possibility.

Some families use their own land, or rent plots of ground where available, and raise all their own vegetables and poultry. Canning and freezing will save money when you have more food than you can consume fresh. If you cannot afford to rent ground, ask farmers, friends and relatives if you may use a small plot of ground free of charge. If your age and health do not permit you to use ground in this way, check your local library on what can be grown in window boxes. You may be surprised at what can be done and what it will save you!

Some mothers have found market gardens and supermarkets throwing away good food on Saturday afternoons because managers felt it might spoil over the weekend. These women made arrangements to pick up this good food before it was thrown out. Others buy day-old bread and other baked goods and freeze what is not needed immediately. Or you may be able to save by baking your own. It all helps.

Reduce Clothing Costs: These can be noticeably reduced by making your own clothes and by trading clothing with other families with growing children. If you do buy some items of clothing, wait for sales. Also, try secondhand stores that handle quality clothes. Often people sell their used goods at what are commonly called in some places flea markets or garage sales. Children quickly outgrow their clothes, so good buys are often available. (Garage or yard sales are also good places for picking up some inexpensive toys for the children.) But shop with care! Only buy what you really need. Guard against impulse buying.

Shelter Savings: Some have had to make the sacrifice of giving up homes with high mortgage payments or rents and moving to more affordable apartments, house trailers or rural homes. Others have had to move in with relatives or friends​—if necessary, fixing up portions of the home to accommodate two families. Sometimes this also allowed them to eliminate the cost of operating another automobile. Years ago many families lived this way with great benefit to all. Of course, there will have to be some give and take in such an arrangement. But is there any problem that genuine love cannot conquer? You and the children may discover the joy of living with grandparents in the same home.

Unemployment Offers Opportunities

Although being out of work may be frightening, it can become a blessing in disguise. Proverbs 20:30 says: “Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.”​—Today’s English Version.

Unemployment brings you an opportunity for self-discovery. It gives you time to reevaluate your life and rethink things. It gives you a chance to focus on your untapped skills and explore a variety of employment options you never had time to think about before. Perhaps you may discover that another line of work would be more suitable and even more enjoyable for you.

Unemployment gives you the opportunity to deepen family relationships. All too often people are just too busy or too tired after a day of hard work to get to know their spouse or children as well as they would like to. Now you can do things with and for family members that you may not have had time for in the past, like cooking a meal or building that extra closet shelf. However, you still want a job. The question is how to find it.

[Picture on page 6]

BUDGET PRICE

PICK YOUR OWN

Finding a Job, or Creating One

‘BUT what about another job?’ you ask. You may have to find employment in a different field, and it may pay less. But many have learned to be content with a lower income. You may even find that, with adjustments, you end up earning less yet having more! In this connection, a budget is a must.

Another must is persistence when looking for a job. Discouragement can easily set in after a few disappointments. But remember, though jobs may be scarce, there are still workers who are resigning, retiring, dying or being transferred. So, “pounding the pavement is still one of the best ways to find work,” a newspaper report said. Call and visit factories, offices, employment centers. Read newspaper ads. And notice, “Experts agree between 50 and 80 per cent of all job openings are never advertised.” So check for job opportunities with relatives, friends and neighbors. Let all of them know what you can do and are willing to do. Prepare and leave a work résumé with them and at places where you apply for a job.a Be willing to move if you have to. Areas of available employment change from time to time.

But do not be kept so busy that you have no time to enjoy yourself once in a while. Constantly looking for a job builds harmful tension and stress, while short recreational breaks bring relief.

What if all of that fails? Or what can you do until you secure another job? Many have learned to create work. This is especially successful in the field of services, supplying what others want or need. For example, when one family found that there was no used-clothing store in their town, they opened one! Or what about becoming a “plant manager”? Stores, offices, hotel and airport lobbies, and like places have lots of green plants these days. Supplying and looking after these plants in a number of places can provide a suitable income with work hours often of your own choosing.

For those who cannot leave home, there are opportunities too. Maybe you bake well or prepare delectable ethnic foods that are in demand in your area. Many restaurants will purchase well-made items like these for their use. Or you may have to advertise your products. In most cities there are weekly newspapers or shopping-news publications that offer free ads. Supermarkets often have boards where people can advertise items for sale. One woman who made Polish pastries was surprised at the response to her first free ad: orders amounting to more than $200! There are other things, such as sewing and altering clothing, which can be done at home too. The chart accompanying this article lists some other make-work possibilities that have helped others avoid the pangs of unemployment.

The main thing is to keep busy​—even doing volunteer work if necessary. One advantage to volunteer work is that it shows prospective employers that you are industrious. In addition, it builds your self-confidence because you are occupied helping others.

Keep A Positive Outlook

Some who have applied the foregoing recommendations successfully would not now go back to their former jobs, even if they could. Losing their jobs enabled them to find work in another field that proved far more enjoyable. They are better off financially in many ways and have more time to be with their families.

Do not despair if you are out of work or expect a layoff soon. Face the future with confidence. If you have strong faith in God’s promises found in the Bible, then your joblessness will not be quite as shattering if you remember that he says: “I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you” and, “Throw all your anxiety upon him [God], because he cares for you.”​—Hebrews 13:5; 1 Peter 5:7.

Faith in these promises can sustain you. Along with the practical suggestions given here, it will help you cope with unemployment.

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 9]

JOB POSSIBILITIES FOR THE UNEMPLOYED

AT HOME

• Baby-sitting, child care

• Selling homegrown vegetables

• Sewing, altering and repairing clothing

• “Piece work” for manufacturers

• Baking and food preparation

• Quilting, crocheting, knitting, making macrame, pottery; other crafts

• Upholstering

• Bookkeeping, typing

• Telephone answering service

• Hairdressing

• Boarders

• Addressing and filling envelopes for advertisers

• House sitting (when people are on vacation and want their home to be looked after)

• Car washing and waxing (customer can drive car to your home)

• Pet grooming

• Saw, scissors, knife sharpening (library books can show how)

• Lock repair and key making (workshop in garage at your home)

• Ads for much of this work can be placed free or at low cost in weekend shopping news or on supermarket notice boards.

OUTSIDE THE HOME

• Cleaning: stores, offices, new homes after construction, after fires, after people move from apartments, in homes of others (housework)

• Repairs: appliances of all kinds (libraries contain easy-to-follow books on repairs)

• Handyman jobs: siding houses; building cabinets, doors, porches; painting; fencing; roofing

• Farm work: crops, fruit picking

• Woodcutting

• Interior landscaping and plant care: offices, banks, shopping plazas, lobbies

• Property management (sometimes provides free living quarters)

• Insurance, real estate

• Carpet installation, cleaning

• Newspaper routes (adults and children), other delivery services: ads, bills for municipalities

• Moving, storage (dry basement usable)

• Landscaping, tree trimming, lawn care

• School-bus driver

• Photography (at playgrounds, games​—offer results to parents)

• Worm picking for fishermen

• Swap work: car repairs for electrical work, sewing for plumbing, etc.