Monday, December 14, 2009
Job loss and loss of mental health continued
But now it is in the New York Times. In response to my post yesterday about the new George Clooney film, several of you wrote back with very deeply felt thoughts. I hope you will start commenting on our blog at http://heist-themovie-blog.blogspot.com/. Here are some additional news items from the NY Times about losing one's job as well as the film. Frank Rich writing in yesterday's NY Times with similar thoughts about the film, http://bit.ly/8GhtqN. Gee, maybe it's time to get a job with them as an op-ed columnist. As I was writing this, my co-producer Frances saw yet another piece in today's NY Times, http://bit.ly/4zQ4st, about the psycho-social impacts of job loss. Yeah, that's what it is called in the research literature. I call it being screwed by the bosses.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Is America "Up in the Air?"
I went to the movies last night to see "Up in the Air," starring George Clooney, whose job it is to fire people from other companies. He brings them the bad news, and then is back 'up in the air.' The trailer for this film suggests it is a romantic comedy, but it is actually a tragi-comedy, not only about the laid off employees( played in the film by people that were actually downsized), but about the character played by Clooney, who is clearly a person who has serious problems with intimacy and just plain feeling anything.
Having worked as a community psychiatrist, I am keenly aware of the impact of losing one's job. It is not just your job you lose, but your sense of self-worth and self-esteem, your identity, your network of co-workers, your income, and ultimately your mental stability. The mental health literature documents that most people who lose their jobs and do not quickly find a comparable paying one, often become depressed, anxious, suicidal, start abusing alcohol/drugs, and become abusive to those close to them, which often results in family breakdowns. So take a breath and imagine what is happening to those who have lost their jobs this last year, and the 30 million who lost them to outsourcing during the previous 30 years, and then ask yourself what will happen to this country when 20-30 million white collar jobs are outsourced via the internet.
Professor Alan Blinder of Princeton University wrote about this prospect several years ago,http://www.princeton.edu/~blinder/papers/06wpPreparingAmericasWorkforce.pdf and the rest of the intellectual establishment dismissed it as mere speculation. We interviewed Dr. Blinder because we knew he was dead right. When we post his interview in the coming weeks in January, I expect you will be stunned, and appropriately angry and scared. It's time to resist, my fellow citizens, and stop the destruction of this country's middle class.
Donald Goldmacher, MD
Having worked as a community psychiatrist, I am keenly aware of the impact of losing one's job. It is not just your job you lose, but your sense of self-worth and self-esteem, your identity, your network of co-workers, your income, and ultimately your mental stability. The mental health literature documents that most people who lose their jobs and do not quickly find a comparable paying one, often become depressed, anxious, suicidal, start abusing alcohol/drugs, and become abusive to those close to them, which often results in family breakdowns. So take a breath and imagine what is happening to those who have lost their jobs this last year, and the 30 million who lost them to outsourcing during the previous 30 years, and then ask yourself what will happen to this country when 20-30 million white collar jobs are outsourced via the internet.
Professor Alan Blinder of Princeton University wrote about this prospect several years ago,http://www.princeton.edu/~blinder/papers/06wpPreparingAmericasWorkforce.pdf and the rest of the intellectual establishment dismissed it as mere speculation. We interviewed Dr. Blinder because we knew he was dead right. When we post his interview in the coming weeks in January, I expect you will be stunned, and appropriately angry and scared. It's time to resist, my fellow citizens, and stop the destruction of this country's middle class.
Donald Goldmacher, MD
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