What Is The Impact Of Unemployment On Our Health?

In addition to being a source of income and a tool for personal development, work also promotes social relationships. It is therefore a mechanism for constructing personal identity. So when a person cannot work, their life is affected in different ways. In addition to the social and psychological consequences, there has also been a strong relationship between health and unemployment.

For years, the relationship between health and unemployment has been the subject of much debate within the scientific community. The question was whether unemployment affected health. On the other hand, it was also a question of whether it was more likely for a person in less good health to be unemployed and / or to find a new job.

In these studies, it was found that unemployment has a direct effect on the physical and mental health of people. On the other hand, the results obtained do not allow us to posit so formally that the state of health has an influence on the search for a job. It was therefore concluded that this relationship is a two-way street.

Unemployment deteriorates health

There is no doubt that unemployment is a major stressor in life. Indeed, it is a situation that is difficult to control and of unknown duration. In addition, it is often caused by an outside element and inhibits access to multiple reinforcers. And, as if that were not enough, the person must be able to draw on their personal resources to adapt to their situation and make it evolve.

Some of the minor stressors associated with unemployment include lack of economic resources, family problems, relationship problems, looking for work, seeking help and resources, facing possible rejection, etc.

When a person experiences a stressful situation and especially when this situation lasts for a long time, changes occur in his body in order to enable him to cope with the problem in the best possible way.

Thus, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis begins to produce a secretion of the hormone cortisol. This reaction is natural. However, repeating this sequence can lead to disruption of the chain and levels of cortisol.

These disturbances have been linked to many diseases. Likewise, unemployment has been associated with abnormal patterns of cortisol secretion. The study showed that these trends were different based on age and gender. This indicates that unemployment does not affect everyone in the same way.

Consequences

Unemployment usually leads to poor health. And this, regardless of health conditions, access to health care and financial resources.

Thus, the state of health of the unemployed is much worse than that of the workers. For example, the physical health problems typically associated with the unemployed are chronic stress, the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity or even diabetes. It’s not surprising. Drug addiction is also more common among the unemployed than in the rest of the population.

In addition, unemployment also has many consequences for psychological health. We can talk about the decrease in well-being, self-esteem, mood but also the increase in anxiety levels and even the evolution of personality.

Health also has an impact on unemployment

In this regard, studies have focused on the influence of mental health on a person’s employability. Indeed, we know that unemployment also has an impact on his mental health. The unemployed person then finds himself plunged into a vicious circle from which it is very difficult to escape.

In other words, a person with fragile mental health is more likely to lose their job. In addition, she is less able to find a future job. In addition, it is highly likely that his health will deteriorate even further after losing his job.

Thus, with greater discomfort, the risk of losing one’s job is even higher. Likewise, these studies show that difficulties during childhood increase the probability of being faced with unemployment in adulthood.

On the other hand, it has been found that people who are less prone to depression are more likely to find a job. And this is especially true in men. In contrast, a survey in Australia found that there was a correlation between men’s mental health and the length of their future employment. However, mental health is not in any way related to the probability of getting a job.

Finally, most studies used samples from clinical populations. It would therefore be advisable to cross-check this information with data from studies carried out on the general population.

Our thoughts

Unemployment can lead to many emotional and psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, drop in self-confidence.