The number one concern about todays economy is still employment or the lack thereof, although the outlook is brighter than a few months ago. Jobs are opening up and more people are being hired even if they have to take a job for lesser pay or even a part time job. Being unemployed puts a lot of stress on a person. They can become physically ill or even mentally ill. Finding another job or getting a part time job may not do anything to improve their health.
Many people may be so depressed they will procure mediocre employment. This could be far worse on your mental health than not having a job at all. One columnist described this situation as the death of hope. That is a bit extreme, but maybe not if you are waking up to go to a place that pays a lousy salary, gives you no control over what you do, or leaves you unsure of your future. Researchers who looked at this problem wrote, Work of poor psychosocial quality does not bestow the same mental health benefits as employment in jobs with high psychosocial quality.
There is an attorney in California who lost her job at the height of the downwards economy. She was so determined to get her job back that she became an intern for that same group of lawyers. They do not pay their interns. She does her regular duties everyday, prosecuting parking ticket violators and jaywalkers, but she is not paid. She has been in this internship for more than a year now. How do you think she is coping with her mental health? Employment may not be much better than unemployment when you are made to feel insignificant. It may even be time to become unemployed again and send your resume out to be gussied up.