“Two troubling trends have reshaped the lives of Americans over the past few decades: Our jobs are less secure, and we are less likely to participate in social and community groups. A first-of-its-kind study suggests these phenomena are linked.

Analyzing decades of data, sociologist Jennie Brand of the University of California, Los Angeles and Sarah Burgard of the University of Michigan found workers who have been laid off even once are 35 percent less likely to be involved in community or social organizations than workers who have never lost a job under those circumstances.

Whats more, that lowered likelihood of civic involvement remains steady decades after the involuntary termination.

‘That surprised us,’ Brand said. ‘Its not like they got re-employed and things went back to normal. There was a change in their lifetime trajectory.’

‘Just one disruption in employment makes workers significantly less likely to participate in a whole range of social activities, from joining book clubs to participating in the PTA and supporting charities,’ she said.

‘After being laid off or downsized, workers are less likely to give back to their community.’

The study, published in the September issue of the journal Social Forces, grew out of Brands longtime interest in the effects of losing a job, which is an increasingly relevant field of research. As Louis Uchitelle of The New York Times wrote in his 2006 book The Disposable American, the attitude of corporations toward their workers changed fundamentally between the mid-1970s and the late 1990s, as job security gradually gave way to ‘the easy and frequent use of layoffs,’ quoting Miller-McCune.

THIS IS SOMETHING OF WHICH TO BE AWARE AS OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS HAVE THEIR JOBS AFFECTED.
THIS WRITER WAS IN A LOCAL SHOP HAVING LUNCH RECENTLY AND LISTENED TO FORMER ARNOLD’S EMPLOYEES SPEAK OF THEIR CHALLENGES SINCE BEING LAID-OFF. TWO FRIENDS BISTRO, ARNOLD’S COUNTRY INN, BAR CINCO & SEBASTIAN’S BEST HAVE ALL CLOSED HERE THIS YEAR!
OTHERS ARE BEING TESTED, AS THE NVN REPORTED ABOUT OUR GOOD FRIEND INSUK JOHNSON’S CHINESE WOK!

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