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Psychological effects of (non)employment: A cross‐national comparison of the United States and Japan
Author(s) -
Gnambs Timo,
Stiglbauer Barbara,
Selenko Eva
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/sjop.12240
Subject(s) - collectivism , psychology , individualism , unemployment , perspective (graphical) , social psychology , cross cultural , demographic economics , sociology , political science , economics , economic growth , artificial intelligence , computer science , law , anthropology
The involuntary loss of employment has been shown to deteriorate subjective well‐being. Adopting a cross‐cultural perspective on Jahoda's ([Jahoda, M., 1982]) deprivation model this study examines several latent and manifest benefits of work that were expected to mediate the effects of employment status on well‐being. It was hypothesized that in more collectivistic societies the decline in subjective well‐being would be a consequence of a diminished sense of collective purpose for the non‐employed, whereas in individualistic societies the crucial factors would be a loss of social status and financial benefits. The findings from two representative national surveys conducted in the United States ( N = 1,093) and Japan ( N = 647) provided partial support for these hypotheses. Cultural differences moderated the effects of employment status on the benefits of work. As a consequence, different processes mediated the decline in well‐being for the non‐employed in the two countries. These results are embedded within the wider discourse on culture and its effect on unemployment.