The psychological implications of unemployment in the general public: a report on differences between employed and unemployed individuals for Self-Esteem, Fears of Negative Evaluation and Perceived Stress

The current level of unemployment in the UK is at a 17 year high; a figure which some researchers claim may explain the increasing prevalence of mental health problems. Literature into the effects of employment status on the General Public is limited and research mostly focuses on the consequences of unemployment in specific groups of individuals. To test the psychological impact of joblessness in the General Public a survey based design was implemented on 66 participants, selected randomly, who were full-time employed (29), part-time employed (12) or unemployed (25) at the time of study. The survey measured Perceived Stress, Self-Esteem and Fears of Negative Evaluation. Data was analysed through MANOVA and follow-up ANOVA and it was found that unemployed subjects reported higher levels of perceived stress, social evaluative anxiety and lower levels of self-esteem than employed subjects. This suggests that unemployment may have negative psychological consequences in the General Public and there may be a need to provide psychological services to assist with the reintegration of unemployed individuals into working society