A Fall from Grace: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Unemployment in UK University Graduates with Common Mental Health Issues

Cockshott, Christopher J.; Kiemle, Gundi; Byrne, Paula; Gabbay, Mark

doi:10.4236/jss.2021.91021

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Mental health was negatively impacted by the socially constructed meaning of a valuable, accepted member of society as someone who is, above all else, making an economic contribution. This builds on other qualitative findings that without work, people feel excluded from society [ 28 , 32 , 34 ]. It was not the implication that participants needed to find paid work that was harmful in itself (indeed, this was typically participants’ primary goal), but rather the sense of a prevailing societal attitude that portrayed anyone not in paid work for a period of time as deviant, even when this is outside of their control.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

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Exploring the lived experience of mental health and coping during unemployment

et al. 2022

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Background Unemployment is known to involve various psychosocial challenges that can negatively impact mental health. However, the intricacies of how individuals experience these challenges and strive to cope within the context of varied sociocultural and individuating factors, remain comparatively understudied. The present qualitative study used an interpretative phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of mental health and coping during unemployment. Methods Fifteen Australian adults who had recently experienced unemployment (for ≥3 months in the last 2 years), despite being available for and able to work, participated in semi-structured interviews from August to September 2021. Maximum variation sampling ensured participants represented diverse sociodemographic backgrounds. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis within NVivo12 software. Results Four major themes were identified: 1) disrupted identity and direction in life; 2) navigating conflicting views of contribution and progress; 3) knowing how to cope is not enough; and 4) unemployment as a catalyst for new understandings. Unemployment disrupted participants’ sense of purpose, identity and visions for the future. It signified a perceived failure to meet societal standards of value based upon the economic functions of work, which participants struggled to reconcile with their own priorities for work that satisfied psychosocial needs. Participants were aware of effective coping strategies, although these had mixed positive and negative effects on mental health, or were difficult to mobilise during unemployment. The COVID-19 pandemic, while normalising unemployment to some degree, exacerbated future uncertainty and prevented engagement with known coping strategies (e.g., social interaction). However, unemployment could also instigate growth through re-defining markers of achievement, re-aligning goals with one’s core values, and developing greater compassion. Conclusions Experiences of mental health and coping during unemployment share complex relationships both with each other and with broader personal and sociocultural contexts. Service providers may better meet the mental health needs of those experiencing unemployment by balancing the economic and psychosocial functions of work, understanding that coping is a wholistic issue that goes beyond knowledge of effective strategies, and being aware of the opportunities for self-development that unemployment can create.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

“…To date, much of the qualitative literature in this area has focused on how unemployment is experienced by those with severe mental health issues [27][28][29][30][31] and other specific subgroups (e.g. age groups, genders or durations of unemployment [32][33][34][35][36][37]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the lived experience of mental health and coping during unemployment

et al. 2022

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“…Among the many psychological responses to unemployment seen in young graduates, we highlight disorientation, a sense of injustice as they expected good career prospects, and the stigma of unemployment mixed with mental health distress. 24 Furthermore, mental health problems in young adults influence long-term health and psychosocial functioning as well as general well-being. 25 In recent years, economic crises have become more frequent, albeit shorter-lived.…”

Section: Graduates In the Hostile Labour Market: Visible And Invisibl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Young graduates and economic recession: Lessons from the pandemic to prevent the (re)incidence of mental health symptoms

Suleman,

Carvalho

2023

Health Planning & Management

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Economic conditions affect the youth labour market and can leave deep scars. This exploratory study examines the emotional responses and mental health symptoms of young graduates during their transition into the labour market in the pandemic context. It draws on 42 news articles with statements from 86 graduates from a set of European and non‐European countries. The graduates had jobs or internships cancelled, numerous applications unanswered or were dismissed from jobs they had recently started. Young people adopt a variety of coping strategies, which are often invisible and cause deep suffering due to anxiety, disappointment, fear, and depression. Their apprehension and uncertainty leave them in a state of limbo. The specific impacts of the pandemic on young people's lives serve as a warning of the need to protect future generations of graduates. More support is required worldwide to manage the mental health issues that affect young graduates, especially during economic recessions.

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“…At a social level, civil unrest and increment of crime rates can occur as major drawbacks of unemployment. Furthermore, Cockshott et al (2021) investigated the experiences of unemployed UK university graduates with mental health issues by using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The loss of expectation and disorientation, a sense of waste and failure because of unemployment, stigma and shame were major issues that affected the mentality of unemployed graduates in this study and Cockshott et al (2021) suggested to have counselling services in universities that can better manage the transition to the employment of graduates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, Cockshott et al (2021) investigated the experiences of unemployed UK university graduates with mental health issues by using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The loss of expectation and disorientation, a sense of waste and failure because of unemployment, stigma and shame were major issues that affected the mentality of unemployed graduates in this study and Cockshott et al (2021) suggested to have counselling services in universities that can better manage the transition to the employment of graduates. In addition to this, Khezri et al (2020) claimed that, unemployed graduates' became anti-social due to the influence of unemployment and it is considered a threat to social and political development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Affecting Unemployment Duration of the Science and Arts Stream University Graduates in Sri Lanka

Gunarathne

Jayasinghe

2021

Adv. J Social Sci.

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Sri Lanka has a significant youth unemployment problem. In the recent years, a more serious problem is graduate unemployment. Therefore, Sri Lanka needs to develop appropriate policies to decrease the duration of unemployment. In this regard, research is required to determine the factors that affect unemployment duration of graduates in order to provide the policy makers with solid foundations for their decision-making processes. Globally several studies have investigated unemployment duration of graduates. Up to date, no study has been done in Sri Lanka that thoroughly investigates the unemployment duration of graduates in Sri Lanka. Thus, the main aim of this research is to identify the factors that affect the duration of unemployment in the Science and Arts stream graduates in Sri Lanka. A survival analysis was conducted to determine how the considered factors affect the duration of unemployment among the Science stream graduates. Due to the nature of the information gathered in relation to the unemployment duration of the Arts stream graduates, an ordinal logistic regression was applied to identify the significant variables of unemployment duration of the Arts stream graduates among the variables considered. The findings of this study show that the Semi Parametric Cox Proportional model is appropriate to determine the relationship between graduates' time taken to obtain the first job and explanatory variables. According to the analysis, the gender, the type of the degree, the job category (private or government sector jobs) and the results of the GCE Advanced Level General English subject have a significant impact on unemployment duration of Science stream graduates. For the Arts stream graduates, the family income, the professional courses followed by graduates during their academic years at the university and the participation in extra-curricular activities while in the university were found to be significant.

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A Fall from Grace: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Unemployment in UK University Graduates with Common Mental Health Issues

Cited by 4 publications

References 25 publications

Exploring the lived experience of mental health and coping during unemployment

Exploring the lived experience of mental health and coping during unemployment

Young graduates and economic recession: Lessons from the pandemic to prevent the (re)incidence of mental health symptoms

Factors Affecting Unemployment Duration of the Science and Arts Stream University Graduates in Sri Lanka

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