The psychology of work and unemployment in Australia today: an Australian psychological society discussion paper

Abstract

This paper reviews recent literature on psychological aspects of work, unemployment, and underemployment in Australia at the beginning of the 21st century. It examines different notions of “work”, including paid employment and unpaid work (e.g., emotional work, volunteer work). It draws attention to the fact that, in our society, most of the important emotional work is carried out by women (caring for children, disabled relatives, and elderly dependent parents). It discusses the well-documented negative effects of unemployment and underemployment and the corresponding benefits of having work, focusing on young people, middle-aged people, and retired people. Finally, it discusses the psychological and health costs of being employed, in the light of the changes in the workplace that have occurred in the last decade: increased work pressures, less job security, increasing needs for retraining, increased income inequality, and an inequitable distribution of paid work.