Work, unemployment and leisure

Abstract

The difficulties which have plagued the British economy over the past ten years have been associated with declining employment opportunities and, in recent years, unparalleled levels of registered unemployment. With no immediate prospect of a reversal in this disturbing trend and the likelihood that the continuation of high rates of unemployment in the future represents evidence not only of a sustained cyclical downturn in economic activity, but is also symptomatic of structural changes in the economy as a result of technological developments, it is becoming increasingly relevant to examine the contemporary influence of work, unemployment and leisure on personal well-being. This paper draws on the findings from recent research on the psychological and social effects of joblessness among groups of redundant adults and unemployed school-leavers in Bradford and Birmingham, in addition to theories and earlier empirical studies of employment and unemployment. It offers an examination of the impact of job deprivation and the meaning of work, the availability of meaningful alternatives to employment and the acceptance by the long-term unemployed in particular, and society in general, of enforced leisure time.