There exist a strong relationship between mental health and an individual's status of employment. Previous research proves that unemployment negatively affects mental health, while people with jobs have better mental health. Unemployed people tend to have impaired mental health characterized by depression, anxiety, stress, hospital admissions, chronic diseases, and premature mortality (Pharr, Moonie, & Bungum, 2011). Additionally, research has established that employment status determines mental health. The study employed a descriptive research design in which the topic focused on how the employment status affects the mental health of an individual. The analysis was carried out in two aspects, which were mental health relating to employment and unemployment-related mental health issues. It combines both qualitative and quantitative research to facilitate the extraction of valid data.
Previous research in the literature review claim that unemployment contributes to impaired mental health, including depression, anxiety, and stress, while employment leads to better mental health in terms of happiness, self-confidence, and self-esteem. Thus, as it stands, unemployment affects mental health, while employment contributes to a healthy mind among individuals. The study hypothesized that employed persons would have better perceived mental health than unemployed participants regardless of the length of unemployment
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The study population comprised 210 randomly selected individuals between the age of 18 to 65, both male and female. Ninety-eight of them were men and 112 women. The study had significantly more women than men (53.4% vs. 46.6%). The research questions addressed through questionnaires and the interviews were as follows; (1) Have you been thinking of yourself as a worthless person? (2) Have you felt you were playing a useful part in things? (3) Have you felt capable of making decisions about things? (4) Have you been feeling reasonably happy, all things considered? (5) Have you been able to enjoy your normal day-to-day activities? (6) Has a doctor diagnosed you with: chronic depression, chronic anxiety, or another mental disorder? The same questions were asked through both questionnaires and during interviews. Besides, the participants who were given questionnaires were asked to rank the levels to which they have experienced mental issues such as stress, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. The employed individuals interviewed in different organizations were also asked to rank the level to which they have experienced the same.
There were additional options to respond to the questions with any additional information to supplement the Yes and No answers. Some other responses provided including providing detailed information about the state in which they were. One participant wrote:
“I have had my doctor talk to me. I am broke and feel worthless sometimes and not part of society. My doctor gave me pills, but I declined"
According to the participant, employment appears to provide a sense of worth, and being a part of the greater society. Yet another participant indicated:
“I had to start seeing a psychiatrist. Although I have always struggled with some issues, I became too much when I stopped working. I was reserved about consulting a psychiatrist, but it later changed when we got to know each other”
The respondent confirmed that in as much as they had previous mental health problems, unemployment seemed to have elevated state (Holland, 2012). The additional information further clarified that unemployment contributed to mental health issues.
The figure below indicates the responses from both the questionnaires and interviews.
F 
igure 1.1: Unemployment and mental health. Yes and No answers in the questionnaires and interviews represented worse than usual. Source: IZA Journal of Labor Economics (Farré, L., Fasani, F. & Mueller, 2018).
From the diagram above, many unemployed persons who admitted to thinking about themselves as being worthless was 5% more as compared to employed individuals. Consequently, they were withdrawn and stressed, which negatively affected their mental health. The findings denote that some individuals attach there sense of self-worth to their ability to clinch and retrain a job. Furthermore, the number of unemployed people who considered themselves not useful in things was more than 12% as compared to employed people. It further confirmed the hypothesis that the employment status affects the mental health of people. More unemployed people felt they could not make decisions about things, which indicated that their unemployment status interferes with their thinking and reasoning capacity.
Figure 1.2: Aspects of mental health concerning the employment status of participants. The figure shows a graphical representation of the coded responses of the participants on the various forms of conditions linked to mental health issues.
The graph indicates that, on average, unemployed individuals recorded a higher rate of depression in comparison to their employed counterparts. The rate was considerably higher for unemployed male people than females. Most of them cited delays in achieving developmental goals due to unemployment as the leading cause of depression (McGee, & Thompson, 2015). Employed people recorded a low rate of depression rates. The results on depression were thus in agreement with the hypothesis. Also, there was a higher rate of anxiety in unemployed participants in comparison to employed ones, which further confirmed the hypothesis. Wholesomely, it is evident that unemployed individuals are predisposed to mental conditions more than there employed counterparts.
The results further indicated that unemployed individuals had a double rate of developing anxiety in comparison to the employed participants. Stress recorded the highest rate among unemployed individuals with more than 8. Low esteem was another mental aspect that showed a greater
The figure below shows the further categorization of results based on gender. It contains results that further provide an understanding of the role that unemployment plays in the mental state of humans. The diagram shows a categorization of the results into full-time employed, employed part-time, unemployed and economically inactive. The results show that the chances of developing mental health problems are significantly reduced in both males and females who are either fully employed or part-time time employees. 20% was discovered to be the highest percentage of employed individuals who could have developmental problems. On the other hand, the results indicated that unemployed individuals had higher chances of having a mental sickness.
T 
able 1.3: The percentage of mental health issues concerning employment status.
Table: Source Mental health statistics
| Employed Participants | Unemployed Participants | |||||
| Variables | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | F-Ratios | |
| Obsessive Compulsiveness | 12.2 | 4.7 | 14.9 | 5.8 | 3.44 | |
| Depression | 16.1 | 5.7 | 20.5 | 7.8 | 3.88 | |
| Interpersonal Sensitivity | 10.8 | 3.8 | 12.5 | 4.8 | 1.89 | |
| Locus of Control | 7.9 | 3.3 | 8.5 | 2.9 | 0.46 | |
| Alienation | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 0.58 | |
| Self-esteem | 40.0 | 8.1 | 42.6 | 13.2 | 1.98 | |
| Anxiety | 9.8 | 3.0 | 11.9 | 4.2 | 4.92 | |
| Life Satisfaction | 35.5 | 6.7 | 37.1 | 7.2 | 1.20 | |
The above table shows the adjusted means for the psychological variables of employed and unemployed individuals. Unemployed individuals had more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and alienation as compared to their working counterparts. The standard deviation for self-esteem ratings was observed to be more abundant in the unemployed group. There was an additional indication of how dealing with unemployment affected their mental health, which further confirms the hypothesis that unemployment contributes to mental illness.
The results provided detailed information that will then be used for a more in-depth discussion with adequate evidence on how the employment status of an individual can affect their mental health. Satisfactory conclusions will be drawn from the data obtained.
References
Farré, L., Fasani, F. & Mueller, H. (2018) Feeling useless: the effect of unemployment on mental health in the Great Recession. IZA J Labor Econ 7, 8 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s40172-018-0068-5
Holland, K. (2012). Effects of unemployment on health and mental health based on gender. Retrieved from: https://sophia.stkate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=msw_papers
Mental health statistics: poverty. (2020, January 16). Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/statistics/mental-health-statistics-poverty
McGee, R. E., & Thompson, N. J. (2015). Peer-reviewed: unemployment and depression among emerging adults in 12 states, behavioral risk factor surveillance system, 2010. Preventing Chronic Disease, 12.
Pharr, J. R., Moonie, S., & Bungum, T. J. (2011). The impact of unemployment on mental and physical health, access to health care, and health risk behaviors. ISRN Public Health, 2012.
