Unemployment & appearances

It is my understanding that most philosophers (and perhaps psychologists) believe 'work' promotes happiness but I think this is in the more general sense of the word. I wouldn't be happy in many jobs because of the stress, monotony and lack of creative freedom they entail. I can remember how miserable it was to work to a deadline feeling unwell or fatigued, and I know workplaces have bullies in them.

The problem is that debates in which unemployment is framed as scrounging rather than struggling are contradictory with regard to the main issue of concern: money. Anybody who attacks the unemployed & those on benefits tends to assume that most work is motivated primarily by a pay check, without assuming that financial problems are paramount in unemployment. In other words, anybody who accepted a miserable job must surely know the misery of not earning money. It's appalling to start from the basis that anybody who is unemployed is more suited to unemployment somehow.

You certainly get better at coping with it over time. I think I mentioned in a previous post that I haven't had a job since I dropped out of university more than 10 years ago. I had a couple of periods of volunteering since I moved to Plymouth but only for a few hours a week. I hope to write about some coping mechanisms for unemployment. But really the debate is about appearances.

Humiliation is not the manifestation of pride, it is abuse. and embarrassment is not jealousy or bitterness. Disrespect is not a historic concept, and can lead to vilification and framing and therefore is dangerous.

Anybody without a job because of health problems can be deemed lazy because they don't look 'ill-enough' and assumed to be fine financially because they are buying things that aren't commonly viewed as essential, such as a coffee or food from higher end grocery shops. It's difficult to tell if somebody's clothes are new or secondhand/borrowed or what is important for their mental health. I've been really lucky that my mum has supported me financially in order to come off benefits a year ago and the improvements in my health since have made a huge difference to my quality of life.

Presentability and to a certain extent lifestyle are late or maybe last to go I think with money struggles. Many important aspects of somebody's financial situation are behind the scenes: being a property owner or not, paying into or qualifying for a pension or not and being able to afford to date or have children or not. I thought I should write about this in full because I don't want my blog to put fuel on the fire for criticism of the unemployed.