Unemployment is a controversial topic in America, fueling debates on whether being unemployed is truly an issue. Through reading the stimulus materials, Albert Camus, a renowned French philosopher, said that, “The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd”(Camus 1). However, Richard Nixon, former president of the United States, said in a speech, “As the name implies, the work ethic holds that labor is good in itself; that a man or woman at work not only makes a contribution to his fellow man but becomes a better person by virtue of the act of working”(Nixon 1). Presented together, yet with contradictory views, interest was sparked as to why unemployment is detrimental to humans, both as
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According to Bertrand Russell, philosophy professor at Texas A&M, “Above all, there will be happiness and joy of life, instead of frayed nerves, weariness, and dyspepsia. The work exacted will be enough to make leisure delightful, but not enough to produce exhaustion”(Russell 1). His belief is that if work hours were significantly reduced, more citizens could work, each person would have an exponential amount of increased leisure time, and more of the world’s problems would be solved. Additionally, Albert Camus, French philosopher, states in his essay, The Myth of Sisyphus, “ The absurd man says yes and his efforts will henceforth be unceasing”(Camus 2). This essay, as well as his other works, all restate the same theme that life is absurd, and all that is done during one’s life is just as absurd. To him, work is needless due to its repetitive nature, and its inability to save humans from their mortality. This contradicts the idea that work is beneficial and continues to spark a debate between post- workers and the modern man of today.
This problem in society provided the inspiration for the research question presented in this paper: inquiring as to what the repercussions of unemployment on the physical and motivational aspects of prime working age individuals in America. Specifically, …show more content…
The first, largest, and most notable health complication found to be caused by unemployment is the increased level of anxiety, accompanied by depression. Research conducted by Margaret W. Linn, a Phd in neuroscience, and her colleagues, found that, “ Results from this study strongly suggest that unemployment had an adverse impact on psychological function, with the unemployed becoming more anxious, depressed, and concerned with bodily symptoms than those who continued to work”(Linn 3). This study observed the physical and emotional effects of the unemployed. To further support the correlation between unemployment and the human body, the article A World Without Work states, “ The unemployed theoretically have the most time to socialize, and yet studies have shown that they feel the most social isolation”(Thomson 5). This statistic refers to the fact that the unemployed have the most leisure time, something those who work strive to have more of. Yet, it was found that those with the excess of leisure time were not as happy and also spent more time on the television and the Internet (Thompson 5). There has also been the finding that the unemployed have a lower self-esteem due to the lack of job, equating to a lack of needed productivity for the world they live in (Linn 1). Together, the evidence clearly points to a significant connection between mental health and
According to Bertrand Russell, philosophy professor at Texas A&M, “Above all, there will be happiness and joy of life, instead of frayed nerves, weariness, and dyspepsia. The work exacted will be enough to make leisure delightful, but not enough to produce exhaustion”(Russell 1). His belief is that if work hours were significantly reduced, more citizens could work, each person would have an exponential amount of increased leisure time, and more of the world’s problems would be solved. Additionally, Albert Camus, French philosopher, states in his essay, The Myth of Sisyphus, “ The absurd man says yes and his efforts will henceforth be unceasing”(Camus 2). This essay, as well as his other works, all restate the same theme that life is absurd, and all that is done during one’s life is just as absurd. To him, work is needless due to its repetitive nature, and its inability to save humans from their mortality. This contradicts the idea that work is beneficial and continues to spark a debate between post- workers and the modern man of today.
This problem in society provided the inspiration for the research question presented in this paper: inquiring as to what the repercussions of unemployment on the physical and motivational aspects of prime working age individuals in America. Specifically, …show more content…
The first, largest, and most notable health complication found to be caused by unemployment is the increased level of anxiety, accompanied by depression. Research conducted by Margaret W. Linn, a Phd in neuroscience, and her colleagues, found that, “ Results from this study strongly suggest that unemployment had an adverse impact on psychological function, with the unemployed becoming more anxious, depressed, and concerned with bodily symptoms than those who continued to work”(Linn 3). This study observed the physical and emotional effects of the unemployed. To further support the correlation between unemployment and the human body, the article A World Without Work states, “ The unemployed theoretically have the most time to socialize, and yet studies have shown that they feel the most social isolation”(Thomson 5). This statistic refers to the fact that the unemployed have the most leisure time, something those who work strive to have more of. Yet, it was found that those with the excess of leisure time were not as happy and also spent more time on the television and the Internet (Thompson 5). There has also been the finding that the unemployed have a lower self-esteem due to the lack of job, equating to a lack of needed productivity for the world they live in (Linn 1). Together, the evidence clearly points to a significant connection between mental health and