DeepSummary
The episode discusses the negative impacts of unemployment on mental, physical, and emotional health, as well as family stability and ability to survive. It highlights research showing that 83% of laid-off workers develop stress-related conditions like stroke, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, or even suicide risk. The flawed unemployment insurance system in the US is discussed, which often denies benefits or provides inadequate support.
The episode features the stories of Kiarica Shields, a hospice nurse who lost her job during the pandemic and faced numerous challenges with unemployment benefits, and Mark Attico, a business travel agent who was furloughed but able to receive benefits and reconnect with his son. Dorian Warren, co-president of Community Change, provides insights on the need to redesign the unemployment system to prioritize human dignity and well-being.
The episode explores the idea of a future with less work and more unemployment due to automation and technological changes. It highlights the importance of reimagining the unemployment system, social safety nets, and work-life balance to promote flourishing and well-being for all.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Unemployment has detrimental effects on mental, physical, and emotional health, as well as family stability and overall well-being.
- The current unemployment insurance system in the United States is flawed and often fails to provide adequate support or benefits.
- There is a need to redesign the unemployment system and social safety nets to prioritize human dignity, well-being, and fundamental rights.
- Systemic biases and inequalities have historically excluded and marginalized certain groups from employment protections and social insurance.
- With potential job scarcity due to automation and technological changes, a reimagined work-life balance and approach to leisure and personal fulfillment are necessary.
- Unemployment benefits can provide opportunities for personal growth, such as strengthening family connections and pursuing passions outside of work.
- The future of work and well-being requires a collective effort and policy choices to address potential challenges and promote flourishing for all.
- Hearing individual stories and experiences can evoke empathy and highlight the urgency for systemic change to prioritize human dignity and well-being.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Any labor scholar would tell you, at the core of our employment, labor and social insurance laws in this country, we have always thought that those people are somehow not like us. And of course, there is a racialized and gendered dimension to this.“ by Dorian Warren
- “Oh, it sucks. I hated it. My job in the travel industry, I'd been doing that for a while, and it was fine, but it's not like I was super passionate about, like, oh, this is my big, important career. It's just, you know, it's a job. It helps me keep my hobbies of sleeping indoors and eating three meals a day or whatever.“ by Mark Attico
- “Having that unstructured time with them during an employment, it really allowed me to be more of the parent and rebuild that connection that I always wanted and really missed.“ by Mark Attico
- “Listening to her story, if you're not feeling a range of emotions, I'm going to ask you to listen again, because I'm part angry for her, but also feeling incredibly empathetic because I have many people in my family who have very similar stories, and I talk to folks in communities around the country all the time who are facing similar stories, which tells you that our system is broken, or, you know, maybe to push the point further that our system actually wasn't designed to value human dignity and flourishing.“ by Dorian Warren
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Episode Information
Better Life Lab
New America
5/17/22
Being unemployed in the United States is bad for you.
It’s bad for your mental, physical and emotional health. Bad for your family stability. Bad for your ability to survive.
It’s just bad news, period.
The research shows that 83 percent of laid-off workers develop a serious stress-related condition. And as we look at the future of work, that’s a problem for the American economy. Because one of the big questions about the American workplace is:What if, in the a future, we actually have less work … and more unemployment?
Guests
- Kiarica Shields, hospice nurse in Georgia who lost her job early in the pandemic, and eventually lost her home and her car. Her unemployment insurance stopped inexplicably, and after she her appeal, she was told she was ineligible for coverage because she worked a single day on another job.
- Mark Attico - furloughed at the start of the pandemic in his job planning business travel. Was on unemployment for months, and with the pandemic supplement his income was actually enough to pay his bills, and gave him time to reconnect with his teenage son - and hold out for a better job that fit his skills and paid well.
- Dorian Warren, co-president of Community Change.
- Sarah Damaske, author of The Tolls of Uncertainty: How Privilege and the Guilt Gap Shape Unemployment in America.
Resources
- Reforming Unemployment Insurance: Stabilizing a system in crisis and laying the foundation for equity, A joint project of Center for American Progress, Center for Popular Democracy, Economic Policy Institute, Groundwork Collaborative, National Employment Law Project, National Women’s Law Center, and Washington Center for Equitable Growth, June, 2021
- A Playbook for Improving Unemployment Insurance Delivery, New America New Practice Lab, 2021
- A Plan to Reform the Unemployment Insurance System in the United States, Arindrajit Dube, The Hamilton Project, April 2021
- How Does Employment, or Unemployment, Affect Health, RWJF, 2013
- Single transitions and persistence of unemployment are associated with poor health outcomes, Herber et al, 2019
- The Toll of job loss, Stephanie Pappas, American Psychological Association, 2020