With last fall’s terrorist attacks, a recession and
massive corporate scandals, a common denominator among people facing
the challenge of finding a new job is a heightened level of stress.
The Five O’Clock Club career counseling network recently conducted a
study of employed and unemployed job seekers to explore the causes of
job-search stress. Here are some of the findings:
1. Unemployed and employed job hunters have
almost the same level of stress. According to Dr. Richard
Bayer, CEO of the Five O’Clock Club, “It’s easy to
assume that unemployed job hunters are under the most stress, but employed
job hunters can face even more challenges.” Employed people are
often job-hunting because they fear for their own jobs. They may be
waiting for the axe to fall, and are living with greater uncertainty.
Employed job hunters are also trying to do two things at once: trying
to perform well at work while conducting a serious campaign.
2. Far more men than women are concerned with
loss of self-esteem. 14% of men considered loss of self-esteem
their greatest source of stress. Only 3% of women put it first. Bayer
commented, “We live in a society where a man’s sense of
self-worth is linked directly with his job satisfaction. Since men often
measure themselves by their professional achievements, being unemployed
is a serious blow to those who have enjoyed a highly visible career.”
3. Job hunters who describe themselves as
middle management have the highest levels of stress. Bayer
says, “ince a lot of companies are still cutting back on mid-level
managers, there aren’t many openings to move into. It’s
definitely a tight market for people at that level. Also, middle-management
professionals often live with greater financial burdens than senior
executives.” The children of senior executives are often grown,
while middle managers may have children of school age, perhaps even
in private schools. The possibility of layoff is therefore a source
of high stress.
4. Stress level dramatically increases at
the six-month mark. People who have been job searching between
0 and 6 months admit to a stress level of around 2.0 on a scale of 4,
yet at the 6-month mark the stress jumps to 2.5. Unemployment insurance
usually ends around six months after a layoff, and most people don’t
have a nest egg large enough to support themselves for more than a few
months.
5. Women are most stressed at the beginning
of a job search, while men are the most stressed at the end, i.e., while
waiting for an offer. 30% of men said that waiting for feedback
was the most stressful part of the process; for women it was only 21%.
6. The good news: 96% managed to reduce or
control their stress using various techniques.
Both men and women cited job-search support groups
as a method of reducing stress. The second most common method used to
reduce stress was exercise. Bayer notes, “We hear that all the
time! People are always saying ’I didn’t get in shape until
I lost my job.’”
For more information, go to www.fiveoclockclub.com
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