A cross-cultural perspective at the role of employers in the meaning of unemployment. A phenomenological research in Poland and in Sweden.

Unemployment is an arousing problem in many parts of the world. That is why exploring this area is so important nowadays. This study takes a closer look at the influence that organisations, that is previous or future employers, can have on the process of unemployment. Time dimension and cultural differences are the aspects that were taken into account. The participants were divided into three groups: short- and long-time unemployed and recently reemployed individuals. To observe cultural dissimilarities, Sweden and Poland were the countries where the research took its place. A phenomenological approach (Meaning Constitution Analysis) was applied. The participants were asked to answer one open-ended question about the way that previous or new employers affected their dealing with unemployment or recovering after it. After that they filled out a questionnaire concerning work values and support coming from religion. The MCA-Minerva Software was used to analyse the text. The results have showed that Swedish unemployed speak much more about responsibility of employers and the government for the situation that jobless people are in. Polish unemployed feel much more anger and frustration, especially at the beginning of the unemployment period. Religion gives little support to Swedes while it is very helpful for Poles, but only for short-time unemployed. Recently reemployed Poles seem not to need religion anymore. Work is similarly important for both nations