Consequences of worklessness Flashcards
Worklessness leads to increased levels of poverty
The loss of a regular income will increase debt and hardship eg loss of a home if the mortgage cannot be paid. With limited income, the workless face an exhaustion of savings and have to cope with material deprivation as they are unable to afford decent housing, clothing,
Moreover, the people who are workless will suffer a loss of income and will either have to survive on private savings or on benefits. As a result, they will be able to buy fewer goods and services and will see a fall in their standard of living. The workless could also face a poverty trap
Finally, the workless are often denied access to areas of life that the majority of the population can enjoy eg using leisure and social activities, use of banks, public transport, healthy eating.
Worklessness can lead to ill health
Research by Fagin and Little found that worklessness undermines a person’s self-confidence and can lead to demoralisation and despair as they no longer feel needed in society.
Work provides an individual with direction and social identity and when they cease to work they can lose their identity, status and self esteem. As a consequence, the workless have higher rates of illness and depression brought on by stress and lacking a sense of purpose in life.
Research has also shown that unemployed people are more likely to have poor health habits, characterised by an unhealthy diet, excess drinking, smoking, lack of exercise, and a sedentary lifestyle. Unemployment has been linked with a number of psychological disorders, particularly anxiety, depression, and substance abuse
Increasing worklessness has a negative impact on society
The workless increase demands on the welfare state: with fewer people in work to pay taxes and fund benefits and more people demanding welfare. Because fewer people are working, there will be fewer people earning enough income to pay tax.
As a result, the government will receive less tax revenue and this will have a large impact on the government’s finances.
People who are unemployed also spend less and this causes economic growth to fall. When someone becomes unemployed they will stop working and will start losing their skills and ability to work. The longer someone stays unemployed, the less employable they will be to firms because firms will need to spend money on retraining them.
