Introduction
- Definition of unemployment: state either where people are looking for work actively, while in other employment or when they do not have a job at all.
- The outcome of unemployment on the social welfare of individuals
- Unemployed individuals face many challenges as their living standard is decreased.
- Unemployment does not only make the individuals unable to afford high-quality medical attention but it also is a major cause of some of the health conditions such as depression.
- The longer the duration that one spends being unemployed the greater the chances of developing health problems.
- Unemployment is a major cause of high morbidity and mortality rates.
- Risk factors associated with unemployment
- Social withdrawal- this is as a result of the inferiority feeling that unemployed individuals feel due to their economic status.
- Family disruption: The poor financial status that results from unemployment may lead to conflicts and misunderstandings in families.
- Lower levels of children’s accomplishments: Long-term unemployment affects the level of accomplishment of the children in relation to access to high quality education.
- Loss of lives through means such as suicide. Most of unemployed individuals may contemplate suicide as a result of the frustration they feel for failure to meet their needs.
- The relationship between crime and unemployment
- The poor individuals as a way of meeting their basic needs commit criminal activities in most cases.
- Other crimes such as murder may also be associated with unemployment as the unemployed individuals may have emotional and psychological challenges that may result into the criminal acts.
- There is a direct link between labor market trends and criminal rates. This is an indication that unemployment is a major cause of criminal activities (Raphael & Winter‐Ebmer, 2001)
- Thesis statement: This paper seeks to investigate the relationship between unemployment and social challenges that affect the welfare of individuals negatively.
- Literature review
- Social impacts of unemployment on individuals
- Social withdrawal: The individuals may alienate themselves from the other members of the society who are unemployed due to the feeling of inferiority.
- Decline in the health status: The individuals may not afford medical cover and this has a negative impact on the quality of health they are likely to have. There is a direct relationship between an individual’s health and their financial status .
- Loss of income: The unemployed individuals may not have the income required to meet their basic needs and this has a negative impact on their well-being.
- Loss of self-esteem. Studies have established a close link between employment and high self esteem of individuals. Unemployment is thus a major cause of decline in the social status of the employees, a fact lowers their self-esteem.
- Social impacts of unemployment on the society
- Impact on the life expectancy: The life expectancy of individuals is reduced by the long-term impacts of unemployment due to the anguish that the individuals suffer (Price, Choi & Vinokur, 2002).
- A feeling of insecurity among employees: The productivity of the current employees may lower due to the lack of job security.
- Stigma: The rest may stigmatize the unemployment members of the society and this may lead to their social exclusion.
- Social impacts of unemployment on the economy
- Reduced welfare of the individuals: The government may not be able to meet the social needs of the citizens due to the financial costs of unemployment it incurs.
- Reduction in economic growth: The spending power of unemployed individuals is reduced due to the lack of income and this affects economic growth.
- Data and methods
- Qualitative research methods: Sample size, Critique of the sample size, Major findings (Verd, 2004)
- Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it: sample size, critique of the sample size; major findings (Podsakoff, MacKenzie & Podsakoff, 2012).
- Theories
- Social conflict theory: The government has adequate resources to stimulate the economy leading to high employment; the employers should not exploit the employees through unfair remuneration.
- Functionalism: Unemployment serves the purpose of misery to the individuals and the society; through unemployment, it is hard for the economy to achieve growth and development.
- Symbolic interactionism: Unemployment leads to the social withdrawal of individuals; Unemployment leads to a rise in criminal activities.
- Conclusion
- The paper addresses the major impacts of unemployment on the social welfare of individuals.
- However, there is need to carry out more research on the link between unemployment and criminal activities.
- Further research on the methods that the government can use to end unemployment is required.
References
Bambra, C., & Eikemo, T. (2008). Welfare state regimes, unemployment and health: a comparative study of the relationship between unemployment and self-reported health in 23 European countries. Journal of epidemiology and community health, jech-2008.
Bartley, M. (1994). Unemployment and ill health: understanding the relationship. Journal of epidemiology and community health, 48(4), 333-337.
http://jech.bmj.com/content/48/4/333.full.pdf+html
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual review of psychology, 63, 539-569.
Price, R. H., Choi, J. N., & Vinokur, A. D. (2002). Links in the chain of adversity following job loss: how financial strain and loss of personal control lead to depression, impaired functioning, and poor health. Journal of occupational health psychology, 7(4), 302.
Raphael, S., & Winter‐Ebmer, R. (2001). Identifying the effect of unemployment on crime*. Journal of Law and Economics, 44(1), 259-283.
Verd, J. M. (2004). Qualitative research methods.upf.edu