Men doubly affected by unemployment
The latest Australian Unity Wellbeing Index has revealed that a man’s wellbeing is doubly affected by unemployment.
The index tracks the wellbeing and ‘mood happiness’ of the Australian population through two surveys each year, and has found that the levels of wellbeing have been affected dramatically by the unemployment figures (currently 600,000). While the index found that the unemployed between the ages of 18 and 25 years were able to maintain optimism, it quickly disappeared for those between 26 and 35 — to be replaced with a dangerous sense of hopelessness. The index found that the sense of hopelessness only worsened for those in middle age, while men were also more affected than women.
Index author and professor at Deakin University, Bob Cummins, said that mens’ sense of wellbeing is doubly affected because the community continues to see them as the primary bread-winners and, where the family is reliant on a single income, it is usually the man who brings in the money.
“While governments recognise the economic impact of unemployment, the shocking impact on personal wellbeing and mental health is not sufficiently recognised,” he said.
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