It's tough to find a job these days. And even getting one far from ensures happiness.
Almost a quarter of the global workforce is depressed, according to a new survey from management consulting firm rogenSI. That would seem to have a lot to do with their jobs. Of the 1,200 respondents, 92 percent linked the current state of their mental health to job performance. (h/t Wall Street Journal)
And what's more, only 12 percent are optimistic when it comes to their jobs.
The report mirrors the results of another study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found 20 percent of the American workforce suffers from some form of mental disorder, with depression and substance abuse being the most common, according to IndustryWeek. Such high rate of instability can't be pinned on the recession either. Suicide rates for 45-to-54-year-olds went up by 20 percent between 1999 and 2004, costing employers $1.3 billion per year in los productivity, the study found.
Given the current state of the global recovery, such pessimism is to be expected. An October poll from Gallup found that Americans are more pessimistic about their finances than they've been in a decade. Likewise, only 12 percent of 18-to-34-year-old Americans say they will financially be better off than their parents.
"Today's environmental stressors have created a negative mindset that has infiltrated our global workforce," rogenSI's North American managing director Alex Jakobson said in a press release. "[They're] causing worker morale to plummet and dangerously hampering productivity."
Read the rest at The Huffington Post
by Harry Bradford
Bill Mitchell has strongly emphasized the negative effects of unemployment not only on the economy but also on the workforce. Here's some evidence.
On the other hand, neoliberals at Forbes see it as a plus, toughening up the workforce and making it more "realistic."
On the other hand, neoliberals at Forbes see it as a plus, toughening up the workforce and making it more "realistic."
Not everyone agrees that depression is all bad, however.
"These people tend to be more realistic about possibilities and problems," Margaret Wehrenberg, a clinical psychologist was quoted in Forbes. "They can be very helpful in terms of anticipating how things can go wrong and, therefore, anticipate corrections."
I was depressed just reading the story. Heading to a local food bank fundraiser tonight - rural poverty is often hidden and has tremendous shame attached to it. The myth of the rugged individual strikes many blows at our social fabric.
ReplyDeleteThat "clinical psychologist" should have her license revoked if she indeed spoke words to that effect. Depression is a serious illness. It does not make people suffering from it more "realistic." That is just neoliberal trash talk.
ReplyDeleteDepression and other forms of mental illness are IMHO a topic that deserves significantly more resources and awareness. IMHO it will always be one of the core problems facing humanity.
ReplyDeleteThe country that I live in has a suicide rate equivalent to road deaths. Yet socially, suicide and other forms of mental illness( or even how someone feels!) is a taboo topic.
E COLI which kills about 75 Americans a year gets more press than :
ReplyDelete1. MRSA ( antibiotic staph infections from Hospitals ) which kills up to 15,000
2. AIDS ?
3. Gun deaths : 25,000
4. mental health ?
THESE are the EPIDEMICS and good MMT money could do a lot for maintaining and saving people as ASSETS which neoliberals know nothing of the sort since austerity lets people die in the streets.
This depression Completely useful..good source, thanks anyway!
ReplyDeleteThis depressed posting, completely useful..
ReplyDeleteIt is really hard to find a job these days even those individuals with a great experience on a line of job is having a hard time to find one no wonder why the unemployment rate had increase through the years.
ReplyDeleteEnergy Prices