Lay-offs and Mental Health

The current recession has taken a huge toll on America's workforce. Almost everyone knows someone that has been laid-off from his/her job. Being unemployed causes great stress in the individual's life and can lead to depression and other mental health issues. Hopefully, within a short time, the unemployed person "bottoms out" and finds support groups and new ways to cope with the unemployment situation and a new job.

However, the people who remain at the job suffer from mental health issues too. According to Brenden Buchell, a University of Cambridge sociologist, the people who got to keep their jobs lives with constant uncertainly as to when or if they will lose their jobs in the future. In order to keep his/her job, the employee will try to work longer hours and become more valuable to the company. Hopefully by working more, the company will not lay off the employee during the next round of cuts. This uncertainly caused greater stress for the employed person than for the person that actually lost his/her job. Over time, the stress and increased workload leads to depression and anxiety.

This is the case at my husband's workplace. All the lay-offs announced last August were finally finished last week. This week the company announced that projected revenue is down and there will new a new round of lay offs in the future. Again, my husband is stuck in limbo wondering "Will I be next?" with his anxiety increasing daily.

Link: http://www.time.com/time.health/article/0,8599,1883614,00.html