Maren Trowbridge and Dr. Marie Cornwall, Sociology
Many workers who find themselves without employment fall into serious depression. As job loss is common in our society, its human cost becomes increasingly widespread. These mental health problems reach even the well-being of the family as well as long-term financial stability. Often, those who are reemployed find themselves in less lucrative, more menial jobs that fail to provide the lifestyle or even the necessities that their previous employment provided. Thus, the underemployed frequently experience levels of depression similar to those of the unemployed (Dooley, Prause, and Ham-Rowbottom 2000).
Recent research explores the possible mediators to such levels of depression. Social support is important in times of life crisis. Spouses, however, prove to be invaluable to the unemployed. Marital status has a strong link to overall happiness in the general population which extends, of course, to the unemployed through its ability to provide a sense of empowerment and constant emotional release for the displaced worker (Jackson 1992). Additionally, education often provides a mediating effect for the unemployed. Those who find they have the marketability that education provides find that they are not complete victims of their circumstances and are able to move past their difficulties (Hamilton, Broman, Hoffman, and Renner 1990). Finally, age can serve to mediate depression. Generally, those at age 45 are least depressed, and levels of depression rise steadily to age 80, possibly because of a decline in control over life circumstances as well as a decline in financial stability (Mirowsky and Ross 1992).
When comparing laid off steelworkers in 2002 and 2003, I expected that levels of depression would decline over time, and that these men would be more depressed than the rest of the surrounding community. Additionally, I expected that being married, having a higher level of education, and being younger would all be factors that would serve to alleviate depression in some way for these men. Finally, I expected that those experiencing underemployment would me nearly as depressed as those who never found any source of employment following their layoff.
In November of 2001, Geneva Steel in Orem, Utah began laying off nearly 1200 employees. In June of 2002, we sent surveys to 1177 of these former employees, using a list of former union members. In an effort to assess their adjustment, we surveyed the workers again in 2003. At the same time, we surveyed a sample of 1150 members of the local community, using questions similar to those presented to the steelworkers. We then created a panel of male steelworkers who responded to both surveys in order to compare their depression levels across the time span. All surveys included a standard 15-item depression scale that asked how many times during the previous week they had experienced specific depressive symptoms.
A comparison of the surveyed groups showed us that the 2002 respondents reported the highest level of depression, followed by those in 2003, and then by the members of the general community. A regression analysis showed us that in 2002, marital status, age, and education had no bearing on level of depression. Even in 2003, education was the only mediator, and its effect was small. The community members also experienced a small mediation from education.
T-tests show us that over the course of one year, the displaced steelworkers experienced a decline in their levels of depression. However, even after a year, their level of depression are still significantly higher than that of the general population. The most interesting finding was a result of dividing the respondents into employment categories and comparing their depression levels. We found that those who were fully employed in 2003 had significantly declining depression levels over the span of the year. Surprisingly, those who were underemployed (those who were employed in part-time or temporary work) experienced a significant decline in their depression levels comparable to that of the fully-employed workers. On the other hand, those who stayed unemployed between 2002 and 2003 experience no significant change.
The idea that underemployment mediates levels of depression is contrary to the current research that surrounds underemployment. Generally, they argue that a substandard job is as effective as no job at all, when it comes to depression levels. However, our research suggests the opposite. This analysis lead us to the conclusion that these jobs, however menial and low-paying, provide these men with a sense of identity that they could not find in any other place. It is that loss of identity that had led these men into depression. It is only reemployment that can restore that sense of identity to these men.
Job loss is a traumatic event. Suddenly, these men lost the livelihood that had supported their families for as many as thirty years. It is probable that the sheer trauma of the event could be the reason why marital status, education, and age did not serve to change the course of their mental health for the year following the Geneva Steel lay-off. Future research must focus on job loss as a traumatic event with life-changing effects on mental health. Additionally, it should look at employment as a source of identity, a means of pulling the displaced steelworker out of depression and restoring to him a sense of production and responsibility.
References
- Dooley, David, Joann Prause, and Kathleen a. Ham-Rowbottom. 2000. “Underemployment and Depression: Longitudinal Relationships.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 41:421-436.
- Hamilton, V. Lee, Clifford L. Broman, William S. Hoffman, and Deborah S. Renner. 1990. “Hard Times and Vulnerable People: Initial Effects of Plant Closing on Autoworkers’ Mental Health.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 31:123-140.
- Jackson, Pamela Braboy. 1992. “Specifying the Buffering Hypothesis: Support, Strain, and Depression.” Social Psychology Quarterly 55 (4): 363-378.
- Ross, Catherine E. and John Mirowsky. 1992. “Age and Depression.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 33:187-205.