Breaking the cycle: exploring the bidirectional link between loneliness and unemployment


Abstract views: 15 / PDF downloads: 21

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15637/jlecon.2697

Keywords:

Impacts of Unemployment, Social Isolation, Loneliness

Abstract

This systematic literature review explored the bidirectional relation between loneliness and unemployment through a systematic analysis of job loss's economic, social, and psychological impacts. Through the synthesis of evidence from existing literature, the study demonstrates the effects of unemployment. It enhances social isolation and contributes to mental health issues like suicidal ideation, anxiety, and depression within the population. Moreover, unemployment often causes disruptions in existing routines, reducing a sense of meaning and leading to feelings of insufficiency. These disruptions can have an influence beyond the person, affecting the family and wider social circles, exacerbating the experience of loneliness.

The study also identified a vicious cycle where unemployment is a major predictor of loneliness and the negative impacts of job loss/unemployment on the victim’s self-esteem and social networks. The cycle implies that interventions must address both unemployment and its psychological consequences in a simultaneous manner in order to break the vicious circle. Furthermore, the promotion of social involvement and the facilitation of access to mental health services can significantly mitigate these negative outcomes. The findings highlight the benefits of developing and implementing tailored methodologies seeking to address the adverse effects of unemployment on the social well-being of individuals and to enhance their overall health.

Downloads

Author Biography

Haydar Baki Doğan, Istanbul Arel University / Türkiye

İstanbul Üniversitesi İşletme Fakültesi mezunu olan Haydar Baki Doğan,  Amerika’da Clemson University’de M.B.A. derecesini aldıktan sonra Doktora Eğitimini İstanbul Arel Üniversitesinde tamamlamıştır. Yirmi yıldan daha uzun süre Avrupa’da Aile şirketlerinde yöneticilik yapmış ve 2013 yılından bu yana Sivil Toplum Kuruluşlarında aktif şekilde yöneticilik yapmaktadır. Aynı zamanda, üniversitelerde yarı zamanlı öğretim üyesi olarak çeşitli dersler vermektedir. Haydar Baki Doğan’ın uzman olduğu alanlar:  Örgütsel Davranış, Girişimcilik, Uluslararası NGO’larda Yönetim, Entelektüel Sermaye, Kurumsal Yönetişim, ve Toplam Kalite Yönetimidir.

References

ALAM, M. K. (2021). A systematic qualitative case study: questions, data collection, NVivo analysis and saturation. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 16(1), 1-31.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-020-01059-6

BLUSTEIN, D. L., & GUARINO, P. A. (2020). Work and unemployment during COVID-19: The existential experience of loss and fear. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 60(5), 702-709-https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167820934229

BROUWERS, E. P. (2020). Social stigma is an underestimated contributing factor to unemployment in people with mental illness or mental health issues: position paper and future directions. BMC Psychology, 8, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-020-00399-0

CAPILI, B. (2021). Cross-Sectional Studies. AJN, American Journal of Nursing, 121(10), 59–62. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.naj.0000794280.73744.fe

CHAINTRÉ, A. P., COUTURIER, Y., NGUYEN, T., & LEVASSEUR, M. (2023). Influence of Hearing Loss on Social Participation in Older Adults: Results from a Scoping Review. Research on Aging, 016402752311745-016402752311745. https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275231174561

CLAIR, R., GORDON, M., KROON, M., & REILLY, C. (2021). The effects of social isolation on well-being and life satisfaction during a pandemic. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8(1).https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00710-3

EHSAN, A., KLAAS, H. S., BASTIANEN, A., & SPINI, D. (2019). Social capital and health: A systematic review of systematic reviews. SSM - Population Health, 8, 100425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100425

EMERSON, E., FORTUNE, N., LLEWELLYN, G., & STANCLIFFE, R. (2021). Loneliness, social support, social isolation and wellbeing among working-age adults with and without disability: Cross-sectional study. Disability and Health Journal, 14(1), 100965.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2020.100965

ERES, R., LIM, M. H., LANHAM, S., JILLARD, C., & BATES, G. (2021). Loneliness and emotion regulation: Implications of having a social anxiety disorder. Australian Journal of Psychology, 73(1), 46-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2021.1904498

Geirdal, A. Ø., RUFFOLO, M., LEUNG, J., THYGESEN, H., PRICE, D., BONSAKSEN, T., & SCHOULTZ, M. (2021). Mental health, quality of life, wellbeing, loneliness, and use of social media in a time of social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak. A cross-country comparative study. Journal of Mental Health, 30(2), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2021.1875413

GILBERT, K. L., RANSOME, Y., DEAN, L. T., DECAILLE, J., & KAWACHI, I. (2022). Social Capital, Black Social Mobility, and Health Disparities. Annual Review of Public Health, 43(1), 173–191. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-052020-112623

HALONEN, I. O. (2019). Unemployed and Alone? - The Relationship between Living Alone and Social Wellbeing among Unemployed People in Finland Iiro Olavi Halonen University of Helsinki Faculty of Social Sciences Sociology. University of Helsinki Faculty of Social Sciences. https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstreams/07c76dcf-c820-4d69-97f0-30df402854f5/download

HARDS, E., LOADES, M. E., HIGSON‐SWEENEY, N., SHAFRAN, R., SERAFIMOVA, T., BRIGDEN, A. & BORWICK, C. (2022). Loneliness and mental health in children and adolescents with pre‐existing mental health problems: A rapid systematic review. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61(2), 313-334. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjc.12331

JUSTESEN, T., FREYBERG, J., & SCHULTZ, A. N. Ø. (2021). Database selection and data gathering methods in systematic reviews of qualitative research regarding diabetes mellitus - an explorative study. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-021-01281-2

LEYTON, R. (n.d.). An exploratory study on psychological distress, social support, and loneliness levels among unemployed people. Retrieved August 8, 2024, from https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/10092/102724/1/Leyton_1995.pdf

LIM, M. H., ALLEN, K. A., FURLONG, M. J., CRAIG, H., & SMITH, D. C. (2021). Introducing a dual continuum model of belonging and loneliness. Australian Journal of Psychology, 73(1), 81-86.https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2021.1883411

LIM, M. H., ERES, R., & VASAN, S. (2020). Understanding loneliness in the twenty-first century: an update on correlates, risk factors, and potential solutions. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 55, 793-810.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01889-7

LIU, S., HEINZEL, S., HAUCKE, M. N., & HEINZ, A. (2021). Increased psychological distress, loneliness, and unemployment in the spread of COVID-19 over six months in Germany. Medicina, 57(1), 53.https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina57010053

MORRISH, N., & MEDINA-LARA, A. (2021). Does unemployment lead to greater levels of loneliness? A systematic review. Social science & medicine, 287, 114339.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114339

MORRISH, N., MUJICA-MOTA, R., & MEDINA-LARA, A. (2022). Understanding the effect of loneliness on unemployment: propensity score matching. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 740.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13107-x

NEWMAN, M., & GOUGH, D. (2020). Systematic reviews in educational research: Methodology, perspectives and application. Systematic reviews in educational research: Methodology, perspectives and application, 3-22.https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/23142/1007012.pdf?sequenc#page=22

PAUL, K. I., & MOSER, K. (2009).

Unemployment impairs mental health: Meta-analyses. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74(3), 264–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.01.001

PETERIE, M., RAMIA, G., MARSTON, G., & PATULNY, R. (2019). Social isolation as stigma-management: Explaining long-term unemployed people's 'failure to network. Sociology, 53(6), 1043-1060. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038519856813

RAIFMAN, J., ETTMAN, C. K., DEAN, L. T., ABDALLA, S. M., SKINNER, A., BARRY, C. L., & GALEA, S. (2022). Economic precarity, loneliness, and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic. PloS one, 17(11), e0275973.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275973

ROBERTS, T., & KRUEGER, J. (2021). Loneliness and the emotional experience of absence. The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 59(2), 185-204.https://doi.org/10.1111/sjp.12387

RÖHR, S., WITTMANN, F., ENGEL, C., ENZENBACH, C., WITTE, A. V., VILLRINGER, A. & RIEDEL-HELLER, S. G. (2022). Social factors and the prevalence of social isolation in a population-based adult cohort. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 1-10.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-021-02174-x

RÖZER, J. J., HOFSTRA, B., BRASHEARS, M. E., & VOLKER, B. (2020). Does unemployment lead to isolation? The consequences of unemployment for social networks. Social Networks, 63, 100-111.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2020.06.002

SMITH, K. J., & VICTOR, C. (2019). Typologies of loneliness, living alone and social isolation, and their associations with physical and mental health. Ageing & Society, 39(8), 1709-1730.https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ageing-and-society/article/typologies-of-loneliness-living-alone-and-social-isolation-and-their-associations-with-physical-and-mental-health/D353C1E49A62C970DDA90C313B52B6E3

STRANDH, M., HAMMARSTRÖM, A., NILSSON, K., NORDENMARK, M., & RUSSEL, H. (2014).

Unemployment, gender, and mental health: The role of the gender regime. Sociology of Health & Illness, 36(5), 710–725. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12122

VASILEIOU, K., BARNETT, J., THORPE, S., & YOUNG, T. (2018). Characterising and Justifying Sample Size Sufficiency in interview-based studies: Systematic Analysis of Qualitative Health Research over a 15-year Period. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0594-7

WEEMS, C. F., CARRION, V. G., MCCURDY, B. H., & SCOZZAFAVA, M. D. (2020). Increased risk of suicide due to economic and social impacts of social distancing measures to address the Covid-19 pandemic: A forecast. Res Prepr, 9, 926.https://doi.www.researchgate.net/publication/340487993

Downloads

Published

2025-03-27

How to Cite

Doğan, H. B. (2025). Breaking the cycle: exploring the bidirectional link between loneliness and unemployment. JOURNAL OF LIFE ECONOMICS, 12(1), e2697. https://doi.org/10.15637/jlecon.2697

Issue

Section

Research Articles