FAMILY MATTERS
Jobless Not Valueless!
By Flavor Mang’ula
T
even suicide. There is decreased quality
of mental health, life satisfaction, and
objective physical well-being. The
unemployed are likely to worry about
their financial situation, never knowing
for sure when they will find a new job. It’s
a difficult time,but not an impossible one.
How do we adjust and continue to find
meaning in life? unemployed people have been flexible
about their spending habits and have been
able to adjust to the changing situation.
But many unemployed people suffer from
depression, anxiety, rumination, and a
sense of hopelessness. Lets seek to explore
on some mechanisms on how to cope with
this predicament. And never forget this,
that no situation is permanent!
Accept Your Reality
Organizations are reeling from a slumped
economy, jobs are being cut daily
rendering thousands jobless, many SME
owners are even closing their business to
seek employment which are as scarce as
can be. Inflation is climbing at a frenetic
pace reaching almost 8% in January and
unemployment hitting almost 12%. Many of us if not all have faced
unemployment in one way or another,
either directly or indirectly in form of a
relative or a friend. Some unemployed
people adjust reasonably well to the
situation, viewing the situation as
temporary, caused by factors beyond their
control, and even as a time to get away
from the stress and rigmarole of work,
work, work. The unemployed face increased risk for
binge drinking, depression, anxiety, and Although unemployment is generally
associated with decreased income, some
he number of people today who
are off work and are lost in a
quandary on what to do next, is
appalling and worrying. Its been a tough
period that has lasted close to three years.
Many people have adjusted, re-adjusted
and totally cut down on even basic needs
yet life is relentless. How does one cope?
Is there even a mechanism to cope? You
have sent several applications, tried several
ventures, but nothing seems to work.
The unemployed face increased risk for binge
drinking, depression, anxiety, and even sui-
cide. There is decreased quality of mental
health, life satisfaction, and objective physical
well-being. The unemployed are likely to worry
about their financial situation, never knowing
for sure when they will find a new job. It’s a dif-
ficult time,but not an impossible one. How do
we adjust and continue to find meaning in life?
36 MAL24/18 ISSUE
One of the first things you need to accept
is that you are jobless. However doesn’t
mean it’s the end of the world. There
are a lot of things that we have learned
to accept in our lives, for instance traffic,
disappointment, injustice, growing older,
losses etc. Accepting reality simply means
that you recognize that it is what it is, and
don’t resist or fight it. For example, if your
organization is downsizing, and you are
laid off, don’t fret, you may go through
the motions but get back on your seat
squarely and accept the reality. It may be
unpleasant but that’s not the time to ask
why me, but rather ask what do I do next?
Normalize The Issue
When you watch the news you recognize
that you are not alone. Millions of people
are in the same boat and across the world.
That doesn’t mean the boat is sinking, it
may be heavy and overloaded but it will
not sink. Most recessions and dark times
are usually followed by times of robust
and exponential growth. If you are out of
work, join the crowd. But also recognize