Unemployment
Jul. 29th, 2005 09:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sobriqueI've been thinking recently, about unemployment.
I've reached the conclusion that it's a disease.
You see, when I was off work for a while, with a bit of a broken leg, I caught a taste of it.
You sit there, with nothing really to do. And so you don't really kick your brain into gear. And you feel useless.
It's a downward spiral - you start to feel unwanted because you're useless, and as a result have more difficulty in finding a new job.
Because you're feeling that you couldn't live up to their criteria, there's not point in applying because you won't get it, and even if you do, you'll botch it at interview anyway. That's something of a self-fulfilling prophecy - an interview isn't about whether you can do the job, it's about whether you'll fit in with their team, and are at least marginally capable of being brought up to speed. But with all such things, if you go in expecting to fail, then you will.
Thankfully, I had a job to return to. So the feelings of being 'pathetic and helpless' were mitigated somewhat, never the less I felt a suprising amount of 'concern' when I was due to return to work. How much the worse could this be if one were off long term?
So I propose a solution. Unemployment benefit, as it stands, has a purpose to support someone whilst they're out of work for a while. That's reasonable and commendable.
I'm well aware though, that there's "professionally unemployed" who eke a living by screwing the benefits system. That to my mind, is a terrible thing to happen to a society. It makes those that do it effectively parasites - unemployed, unemployable, and ostracised from the community as a result.
What if, instead of long term benefits claim, the state would agree to support you in return for your labour. Scrap housing benefit, scrap handouts, but give _everyone_ the right to accomodation, food and training, in return for them doing ... well, whatever needed doing at the time.
Maybe even start a 'boot camp' style of retraining program. Intensive training, effectively isolating, breaking and retraining.
It won't be 100% successful, because there's alway those that would rather not, and that will make excuses.
The key point would be to instill a sense of self worth. Once you can get someone to take pride in what they do, and who they are, then the road to becoming an active contributing member of the community is clear and easy. It's just finding it in the first place that's somewhat tough.
I've reached the conclusion that it's a disease.
You see, when I was off work for a while, with a bit of a broken leg, I caught a taste of it.
You sit there, with nothing really to do. And so you don't really kick your brain into gear. And you feel useless.
It's a downward spiral - you start to feel unwanted because you're useless, and as a result have more difficulty in finding a new job.
Because you're feeling that you couldn't live up to their criteria, there's not point in applying because you won't get it, and even if you do, you'll botch it at interview anyway. That's something of a self-fulfilling prophecy - an interview isn't about whether you can do the job, it's about whether you'll fit in with their team, and are at least marginally capable of being brought up to speed. But with all such things, if you go in expecting to fail, then you will.
Thankfully, I had a job to return to. So the feelings of being 'pathetic and helpless' were mitigated somewhat, never the less I felt a suprising amount of 'concern' when I was due to return to work. How much the worse could this be if one were off long term?
So I propose a solution. Unemployment benefit, as it stands, has a purpose to support someone whilst they're out of work for a while. That's reasonable and commendable.
I'm well aware though, that there's "professionally unemployed" who eke a living by screwing the benefits system. That to my mind, is a terrible thing to happen to a society. It makes those that do it effectively parasites - unemployed, unemployable, and ostracised from the community as a result.
What if, instead of long term benefits claim, the state would agree to support you in return for your labour. Scrap housing benefit, scrap handouts, but give _everyone_ the right to accomodation, food and training, in return for them doing ... well, whatever needed doing at the time.
Maybe even start a 'boot camp' style of retraining program. Intensive training, effectively isolating, breaking and retraining.
It won't be 100% successful, because there's alway those that would rather not, and that will make excuses.
The key point would be to instill a sense of self worth. Once you can get someone to take pride in what they do, and who they are, then the road to becoming an active contributing member of the community is clear and easy. It's just finding it in the first place that's somewhat tough.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-07-29 09:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-29 10:01 am (UTC)Unemployment in this country is low, by world and historical standards, lets not lose sight of that. I spent seven months being unemployed in the year after I finished uni. It was soul destroying and depressing, not helped by the fact I had almost no idea what I actually wanted to do and was thus applying for jobs I was not only depressed about but actually didn't want. Still it was better than working at the Halifax. The Job Centre were useless; apparently unable to do anything for anyone with more brains than a lettuce.
I think what the unemployed need is to be made to work on their CVs and helped to apply for jobs. The weak, randomly enforced, pressure of the Job Centre doesn't work. As for the long term unemployed, well the New Deal has actually been pretty successful, so we can work from that as a model.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-29 10:22 am (UTC)One thing I found the most annoying for me was the staff in the job centre.. whose reaction to you wanting to sign on was contemptuous at best. I found the training schemes even worse. I was slave labour for weeks, effectively a free set of hands as the government paid the wages. (This was nearly 7 years agon now so porbably out of date with modern training etc.)
After personal experience, I say chuck the job centre cant find employment if they had a map, compas and GPS, go for the Temp agency. Because they are paid by you work they have a deffinate incentive to get you work. They are geared to get you a job and encourage you to keep it, more than any of the people in the job centre. Also the people in the temp agancy are less likely to treat you with open contempt, and you count as being Employed for your cv, which is highly desirable by employers.
In kind of support to your "retraining" idea..though I broke my period of uemployment hell with the kind help of my parents. I went back to college, enrolled in a 2 year BTEC adult training course. I think I would have been a Nursery Nurse too if I hadn't A: found a job with Mcdonalds and B: got disolusioned with the nursery hell holes that inhabit Leyland...
no subject
Date: 2005-07-29 01:19 pm (UTC)I spent six months doing nowt apart from signing my name every fortnight and printing out a handful of 'need monkey, will swap peanuts' job descriptions and then they put me on a two-week professional 'back to work' training course at a LearnDirect centre near the Canal Basin. Which actually taught people *how* to motivate and sell yourself (as well as excellent CV advice). With my new improved CV I got a job a few weeks later.
Admittedly there were a few people there who come back every few weeks, but it effectively was a boot camp to help people get back into the swing of things. I can't vouch for similar courses around the country, obviously, but the one in Cov was first class.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-30 09:12 am (UTC)The same can be said for most jobs these days. Work has aided society while it is necessary for all members of society it's defintion must vary. We cannot expect the same intensity and duration of effort for all, the artist and philosopher have different requirements from the bureaucrat or assembly worker.
There is, IMO, a such large degree of difference in these questions of intensity and duration that we cannot say what is right for one people. We should give their benefit and a training course, if this means an increase in taxes then it's ok by me. It should be up to the individual what they do, your approach sounds like a Victorian Workhouse. That approach was abandoned because it was socially unworkable.