Joblessness & Depression

Toshita Khatri

COVID-19 has been a dramatic global health and economic shock. As SARS COV-2 spread across nations, economic activities have plummeted. Individuals first changed their behaviours and then as government’s lockdowns took effect. The contagion has disrupted every aspect of our lives. Even before the onset of the crisis, the social and economic integration of young people was an ongoing challenge.
Now, unless urgent action is taken, young people are likely to suffer severe and lifelong effects of the pandemic. The younger people who are uncertain of their future career prospects due to the fatal virus disease are most likely to reel from circumstances leading to anxiety and depression.
As we know, mental well-being is lowest for younger youths. Young people whose education and work were either disrupted or had stopped completely were almost twice as likely to be affected by anxiety or depression as compared to those who continued to be employed or whose education was not affected. Young people in low-income countries are the most exposed to reductions in working hours, resulting in contraction in incomes.
While unemployment itself is a problem, especially in the wake of COVID‑19, youth unemployment has quickly become a global crisis making it a top policy concern. The pandemic is inflicting multiple shocks on young people. It is not only destroying their jobs and employment prospects, but also disrupting their education and training and having a serious impact on their mental well-being.
Having a significant amount of young people out of work can negatively impact a society's economic growth and development. If left unchecked, youth unemployment may bring serious social consequences leading to social exclusion, anxiety, fear and a hope for the future. Given that maximum numbers of young people live in low-income countries, people lack the sense of improving their lives, which may lead millions of young people into poverty and frustration.
Compared with employed people, the jobless youth are at higher risk of mental health problems such as depression and low self-esteem. Problems related to unemployment, such as financial distress or economic conditions, often lead to a sense of failure, which in turn results in frustration. Another potential factor for depression among youth is family and societal pressures, associated with job seeking activities and unrealistic higher expectations from college or university graduates to get a good and stable job.
So the real question is whether unemployment causes depression or, is frustration preventing people from finding jobs? The long-term unemployed, unfortunately, have a good reason to be depressed as they suffer plenty of discrimination in the labour market. Employers prefer candidates who have no relevant experience but have been unemployed for less than six months, rather than those candidates who are experienced, who are looking for work longer than the prescribed time.
People tend to lose their hope the longer they are out of a job. Being unemployed can damage one’s confidence and sanity. For a lot of people, what you do for a living can be linked to your sense of identity and self-esteem, and with no job to anchor yourself to, you end up at risk of showing symptoms of depression.