Job Loss Fear’s Affect on Health

2009-09-07 01:20:54 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - Health & Fitness, News)

Wired PR News reports a study suggests job loss fears can greatly impact health.

A new study suggests fear of job loss may have a greater impact on health than job loss itself.

Press Release Service – Wired PR News – A new study proposes that fears surrounding losing one’s job may have more of an impact on the physical and mental health of individuals than actually experiencing the loss of a job. As reported by HealthDay News, the study, conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, found that participants who feared job loss had higher instances of poor health and depression than those who had been laid off from their jobs.

Study author Sarah Burgard, with the university’s Institute for Social Research, is quoted in the report as stating of the findings, “The negative effect of being persistently insecure was more significant than the unemployment itself… By no means am I trying to belittle the stress of job loss, but the negative anticipation of an event can be more stressful than the event itself. People feel they have the sword of Damocles hanging over their head, but they can’t exert any control over the situation.”

Burgard is further quoted as stating, “Part of the problem is the feeling of powerlessness… Taking action, to the extent that it’s possible, can help make people feel they have at least some control over a really difficult situation.”

As noted in the report, the study will be featured in the September publication of the Social Science & Medicine.

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