000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Unemployment

Joblessness seems to be the phenomenon most threatening and upsetting to Poles. In January of 1990, when official registration of unemployment began, the number of unemployed persons was close to 50 000. Six months later it reached 568 000 or 3.1%. By December of 1991 it was 11.8%. In 1993, it reached a peak of 16.4%. After several years, unemployment slowly decreased and was 9.6% in 1998.¹⁴

It appears that, in a situation where unemployment is a constant threat, some employers feel free to exploit workers mercilessly. Regulations about working hours and paid holidays are notoriously neglected, and pressure to work is exerted on employees whose inability to work has been diagnosed by a physician. All these factors contribute to considerable psychological stress for employees, which is often neglected by the occupational medical services, whose training in this field has been unsatisfactory for a long time. The problems of psychological stress have not been included in the recent edition of Hygienic-Physiological Norms in Industrial Medicine (in Polish, Warsaw 1983), though they are discussed in manuals published in 1972 and1973, which have been unavailable for years.

THE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF UNEMPLOYMENT

 

Systemic, uniform, and exhaustive studies that provide information on the mental health risks and consequences of unemployment are lacking. No data is available on the prevalence of depression among unemployed workers, on unemployment caused by depression, or on depression caused by unemployment.

Subjective indicators of the impact of unemployment on mental health can be found in sociological surveys carried out on representative samples of the adult population. Surveys on the subject are conducted periodically by public opinion poll centres. They use a number of scales that measure factors such as the perceived threat of unemployment, social pessimism, and social optimism. In recent years, surveys have indicated that Poles feel increasingly threatened with unemployment and that pessimism is growing.

A recent survey conducted by the Central Statistical Office and the Main School of Commerce in Warsaw dealt with the impact of unemployment on health. The findings indicated that stress related to unemployment impacts physical well being. They revealed an increase in the prevalence of many mental health problems and in consumption rates of psychoactive substances.¹⁵

Based on sociological surveys, the Department of Analyses and Prognoses of the Prime Minister's Office has noted¹⁶ that, in 1999, anxiety related to the threat of unemployment grew by almost 50% compared to the 1997 level. Respondents to a 1997 survey on the quality of life had already ranked unemployment as the second greatest cause of frustration, after "political chaos and fights" and before "rising prices." There is reason to believe that unemployment contributed to the increase in suicide in Poland during the years of economic transformation. Suicides went from 13.9 per100 000 in 1991 to 14.9 per100 000 in 1992, and then back down to 13.1 per100 000 in 1998.¹⁷

No nation-wide programme has been organised to train welfare officers in dealing with the unemployed. However, with the emergence of unemployment as a social problem in Poland, centres all over the country have conducted such training courses on their own initiative. The courses address the impact of joblessness on the emotional state and the possible onset of